NBE Therapeutics Closes a CHF 20 Million Financing by Novo Holdings A/S

Basel, Switzerland, June 28, 2018

NBE Therapeutics AG, a biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) for improved cancer therapy, today announces a CHF 20 million extension of the Series B round. Together with an earlier CHF 20 million series B financing, led by PPF Capital Partners Fund (PPF) with the participation of the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund (BIVF) and private investors, the total series B financing round of NBE-Therapeutics has reached CHF 40 million. Novo Holdings becomes a major shareholder of NBE Therapeutics, alongside BIVF and PPF. The additional financing will allow NBE to advance the lead program NBE-002 targeting ROR-1 primarily for the treatment of solid tumors into clinical development and additional ADC pipeline programs through early development.

NBE develops next-generation ADCs based on its proprietary site-specific SMAC-conjugation™ technology and a novel ultra-potent anthracycline-based toxin platform with the objective to develop first- and best-in-class ADC product candidates against tumor targets in cancer indications of high, unmet medical need.   

Dr. Ulf Grawunder, CEO of NBE Therapeutics commented: “The additional investment by Novo into NBE-Therapeutics, represents another strong endorsement of our ADC platform, our team and our strategy for developing promising ADC product candidates for the benefit of cancer patients.” He continues: “We are particularly excited that Novo Holdings, with its outstanding track record and reputation in the field of life-science investments, has become a major shareholder of NBE-Therapeutics.”

As part of the transaction, Dr. Nanna Lüneborg, partner in the Novo Ventures team of Novo Holdings, has joined the Board of Directors of NBE-Therapeutics.

Theo Walthie, Chairman of NBE-Therapeutics welcomes Nanna Lüneborg and Novo Holdings as new partners of NBE Therapeutics and adds: “This is another important milestone in the development of NBE Therapeutics toward a clinical-stage ADC company. With the strong backing of three institutional investors, Novo, BIVF and PPF, and dedicated private investors, we are looking forward to advancing NBE-Therapeutics’ lead ADC program, NBE-002, into the clinic.”

Dr. Nanna Lüneborg comments: “We are excited to become shareholders of NBE-Therapeutics, and we look forward to working with the team and the Board to develop novel ADCs for the benefit of cancer patients in need of better targeted therapies.”