LifeArc Invests $30 Million in Kymab to Advance Fully Human Monoclonal Antibody Development

On July 4, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media reports that antibody development company Kymab has entered into a partnership agreement with the UK medical charity LifeArc. LifeArc will inject $30 million into the Cambridge-based company. Previous reports had indicated that Kymab had filed a confidential draft registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in preparation for an initial public offering (IPO).

Through this investment, LifeArc will gain access to Kymab’s IntelliSelect technology platform to enhance its antibody research and development capabilities. The organization has already invested $10 million in Kymab and committed an additional $20 million. Under the agreement, LifeArc will share a percentage of the profits from any products developed and commercialized using Kymab’s technology with Kymab. This collaboration will provide the charity with access to Kymab’s novel antibody discovery technologies, further advancing its achievements in antibody generation and screening.

It is reported that Kymab previously completed a $30.4 million Series A financing round in July 2010, a $40 million Series B financing round in May 2014, a $50 million Series B+ financing round in May 2015, and a $100 million Series C financing round in November 2016. In January 2017, it received a $9 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Kymab, founded in 2009 and headquartered in Cambridge, UK, leverages its proprietary antibody discovery platform to analyze the diversity of B-lymphocyte components in the human immune system and generate biotherapeutic antibodies targeting both established clinical drug targets and novel ones.

Simon Sturge has recently succeeded David Chiswell as Chief Executive Officer of Kymab, charting the course for the company’s future development.

Kymab is currently developing a pipeline of novel antibody-based therapies, centered on its proprietary IntelliSelect technology platform for the discovery of fully human monoclonal antibodies. The IntelliSelect platform is designed to rapidly generate mature, fully human monoclonal antibodies. By integrating single-cell sequencing, genomics, and proprietary bioinformatics algorithms, the IntelliSelect screening technology selects antibodies derived from the IntelliSelect transgenic platform to ensure that the resulting candidates possess optimal drug-like properties.

The technologies Kymab provides to LifeArc include the novel transgenic platform, Darwin. This platform replaces traditional transgenic platforms and, when combined with Kymab’s human antibody screening platform, enables the rapid development of optimal therapeutic candidates.

LifeArc, established in 1992, is an independent UK life sciences and medical research charity dedicated to improving patient health. The organization drives innovation in medical diagnostics and therapeutics through in-house R&D and collaborations with industry partners, charities, universities, and research institutions.

LifeArc focuses on translating scientific achievements from early-stage laboratory discoveries to clinical applications, developing novel diagnostic and therapeutic solutions, drugs, technologies, and information resources to create practical products that benefit patients.

Melanie Lee, CEO of LifeArc, stated: “LifeArc is dedicated to translating cutting-edge research into products that benefit human health, and we have already achieved significant success in the field of antibody engineering. Kymab provides us with a new technology platform to rapidly generate optimal antibodies targeting a range of therapeutic targets.”

Simon Sturge, CEO of Kymab, said, “LifeArc focuses on translational medical research, and I am delighted that they have chosen the IntelliSelect platform to support their future antibody development projects.”

(Compiled by Tang Lulu)