Arvelle Announces Closing of Final Tranche of Series A Financing Round
Brings the total financing to $207.8m
Triggered by successful filing and validation of the MAA for cenobamate
Zug, Switzerland, 26 May 2020 - Arvelle Therapeutics, an emerging biopharmaceutical company focused on bringing innovative treatments to patients suffering from CNS disorders, is pleased to announce that the Company has closed the final tranche of its Series A financing round. The final tranche was triggered by the European Medicines Agency's.
The final tranche of $42.7m, representing 32% of the initial total Series A commitment of $133.3m, along with $74.5m in previously funded product financing, brings the total capital raised to $207.8m. Series A investors include NovaQuest Capital Management, BRV Capital Management, LSP, H.I.G. BioHealth Partners, Andera Partners, F-Prime Capital, KB Investments and members of management.
Arvelle will use the proceeds of the fundraising to continue to expand its operations across Europe, including key country-by-country hires in preparation of the European launch of cenobamate. Cenobamate is approved in the U.S. where it is commercially available under the trademark XCOPRI.
Commenting on the news, Mark Altmeyer, President and CEO of Arvelle Therapeutics, said:"We are pleased to announce the closing of the final tranche of our Series A today We have made great progress at Arvelle since our initial funding and are continuing to build out the team to ensure we are fully prepared to launch cenobamate across Europe following approval . The backing of such esteemed, international investors points to the potential of cenobamate as an adjunctive treatment of focal-onset seizures in adults with epilepsy and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our investors for their continued support."
Olivier Litzka at Andera Partners said: "The world-class team at Arvelle have made great strides since the company's inception and we are pleased to support such an innovative organisation as it matures towards becoming a commercial business, with an approved product on the market in Europe."
Matthew Bullard at NovaQuest said: "We believe cenobamate has potential as a new therapeutic option for patients who continue to have seizures despite the use of available treatments. We look forward to supporting the Company and seeing the impact cenobamate could have on patients living with this debilitating condition."
ENDS
For more information please contact:
Arvelle Therapeutics
Email: Juan.Vergez@arvelletx.com
Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications
Consilum Strategic Communications (international strategic communications)
Mary-Jane Elliott/Susan Stuart/Alex Harrison/Lindsey Neville
Email: arvelletherapeutics@consilium-comms.com
Telephone: +44 (0)20 3709 5700
About Arvelle Therapeutics
Arvelle Therapeutics is an emerging biopharmaceutical company focused on bringing innovative solutions to patients suffering from CNS disorders. Arvelle is responsible for the development and commercialization of cenobamate, an investigational antiepileptic drug, in the European market. Arvelle is headquartered in Switzerland and received start-up financing of $207.8 million, one of the largest initial financing commitments for a European-focused biopharmaceutical company, with investments from a global syndicate including NovaQuest Capital Management, BRV Capital Management, LSP, H.I.G. BioHealth Partners, Andera Partners, F-Prime Capital and KB Investments. More information is available at http://arvelletx.com.
About Cenobamate
Cenobamate was discovered by SK Biopharmaceuticals and SK life science and is a new FDA-approved antiseizure medication (ASM) for the treatment of partial-onset seizures in adults (also known as focal-onset seizures). Cenobamate has been approved in the U.S. where it is commercially available under the trademark XCOPRI. In early 2019, SK Biopharmaceuticals entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Arvelle Therapeutics to develop and commercialize cenobamate in Europe.
Cenobamate is believed to work through a unique, dual, complementary mechanism of action: Enhancing inhibitory currents through positive modulation of GABAA receptors at a non-benzodiazepine binding site, and decreasing excitatory currents by both inhibiting the persistent sodium current and enhancing the inactivated state of voltage-gated sodium channels.
Long term data of cenobamate is being further studied in the open-label extensions of the double-blind placebo control trials as well as the open-label safety study in adults with focal-onset seizures. Additionally, cenobamate is being assessed in an ongoing randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluating its safety and efficacy as adjunctive therapy in patients with primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures (NCT03678753).
