AM-Pharma Secures €116 Million in Series F Financing to Advance recAP into Phase III Trials for Sepsis-Associated Acute Kidney Injury

Recently, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media reports that biopharmaceutical company AM-Pharma announced the completion of a €116 million Series F financing round. The round was led by Life Sciences Partners (LSP) and Andera Partners, with participation from Forbion, Ysios Capital, Kurma Partners, Idinvest Partners, BB Pureos Bioventures, and Gilde Healthcare. The company also announced that Martijn Kleijwegt, founder of LSP, and investment advisor Felice Verduyn van Weegen will join the board of directors of AM-Pharma.

AM-Pharma will use the funds from this financing round to conduct Phase III clinical trials of recAP, a therapeutic agent for sepsis-associated acute kidney injury (SA-AKI), to further validate its efficacy and safety in patients with the target indication.

AM-Pharma has completed eight rounds of financing, raising a total of €160 million. Notably, the company closed its Series E financing round in September 2014, raising €12.2 million, and completed its Series A round in August 2001, securing €640,000.

AM-Pharma, founded in 2001, is a biopharmaceutical company based in Bunnik, the Netherlands. The company focuses on developing novel therapies for inflammation and infectious diseases, primarily leveraging endogenous proteins, protein-derived peptides, and molecules naturally present in the human body to create clinical-stage drugs. AM-Pharma’s product portfolio includes alkaline phosphatase and the immune response-amplifying peptide hLF1-11; the former is indicated for the treatment of acute kidney injury (AKI) and ulcerative colitis, while the latter is used to treat nosocomial infections.

AKI can cause renal inflammation and even lead to complete loss of kidney function. Approximately 3 million such patients are reported annually in Europe, the United States, and Japan, with 40%–60% of them requiring admission to the intensive care unit for treatment. In the United States alone, hospitals spend approximately $10 billion each year treating this severe condition. The most important causes of AKI are sepsis, cardiovascular surgery, and exposure to nephrotoxic drugs. Currently, the only treatment for this condition is dialysis; no pharmacological therapy has received regulatory approval for its treatment.

AM-Pharma’s lead drug, recAP, is a recombinant alkaline phosphatase for the treatment of sepsis-associated acute kidney injury (SA-AKI). In 2018, the company reported results from its Phase II clinical trial of recAP, demonstrating that the drug significantly improved patients’ renal function. AM-Pharma plans to initiate the Phase III clinical trial of recAP in the first half of next year. The trial has currently enrolled 1,400 volunteers with SA-AKI across 12 countries worldwide. If the trial proves successful, AM-Pharma will submit a marketing authorization application to the European Medicines Agency (EMA). recAP has the potential to become the first approved therapy for SA-AKI.

Furthermore, AM-Pharma is exploring other indications for recAP, such as ulcerative colitis (UC), necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), and hypophosphatasia (HPP).

Erik van den Berg, CEO of AM-Pharma, stated, “The financial backing from life sciences venture capital firms LSP and Andera Partners underscores the urgent need for AKI therapeutics, and we look forward to initiating the Phase III trial of recAP.”

Headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, LSP is a private equity firm focused on the biotechnology and healthcare industries, with assets under management exceeding €500 million. With offices in Amsterdam, Munich (Germany), and Boston (United States), LSP is one of Europe’s largest investors in the life sciences sector.

Andera Partners, founded in 1953 and headquartered in Paris, France, is a venture capital and private equity firm. The company focuses on the biotechnology, medical device, and pharmaceutical industries, with assets under management exceeding €2.3 billion.

Forbion, established in 2007 and headquartered in the Netherlands, is a leading venture capital and private equity firm. The company primarily partners with life sciences companies, investing in startups within the biotechnology, healthcare, and pharmaceutical sectors. Forbion manages assets exceeding €400 million.

Ysios Capital, established in 2008 and headquartered in Barcelona, Spain, is a venture capital and financial services firm focused on the healthcare and biotechnology sectors. The firm manages two funds, Ysios BioFund I and Ysios BioFund II, with assets under management exceeding €200 million.

Kurma Partners, established in 2009 and headquartered in Paris, France, is a venture capital firm. The company primarily participates in the financing of European pharmaceutical and medical innovation enterprises, with a focus on the healthcare and life sciences industries. Kurma Partners has invested in biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies such as Stilla Technologies, Minoryx Therapeutics, and Asarina Pharma.

Idinvest Partners, founded in 1997 and headquartered in Paris, France, is a venture capital and private equity firm. The company focuses on the biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and pharmaceutical sectors, primarily investing in small and medium-sized European startups, with nearly €17 billion in assets under management.

Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, Pureos is a newly established venture capital firm specializing in the healthcare and biotechnology sectors. With an experienced team of venture capital managers and biotechnology experts, Pureos supports private innovative pharmaceutical companies in the research and development of next-generation biologics.

Gilde Healthcare, founded in 1982 and headquartered in the Netherlands, is a venture capital and private equity firm. The company primarily invests in biotechnology, healthcare, medical devices, and digital health, with over €800 million in assets under management.

(Compiled by: Xu Xiaoxue)