The Conversation (0)
Financing from new and existing investors will support continued development of a novel treatment for food allergy
Jim Momtazee and George Montgomery to join Alladapt's Board of Directors
Alladapt Immunotherapeutics Inc., a private, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing prescription therapeutics to address IgE-mediated food allergy, announced today the closing of a $119 million financing round led by Enavate Sciences, a portfolio company created by Patient Square Capital. Additional investors participating in the financing include Alladapt's founding investor, Gurnet Point Capital, along with new investors Allerfund, Novartis (NYSE: NVS), Red Tree Venture Capital, and WestRiver Group.
Proceeds from this funding round will support the ongoing clinical development of ADP101, the Company's lead product candidate, as well as preparation for a potential pivotal trial, the continued buildout of Alladapt's manufacturing facility, and investment in further pipeline expansion. Leveraging an immense body of evidence in oral immunotherapy developed by many leading allergists, including Dr. Kari Nadeau, the Director of the Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford University and co-founder of Alladapt, ADP101 is currently being studied in Harmony, a Phase 1/2 trial, and Encore, the associated open-label extension (OLE) study, in food allergy patients.
"We are pleased to further accelerate the development of our investigative clinical program targeting the treatment of allergy to one or to multiple foods through a singular oral immunotherapy," commented Ashley Dombkowski, Ph.D., Alladapt's Chief Executive Officer and co-founder. "Food allergy is a serious, chronic disease in which accidental exposure to an allergen can cause a rapid onset, severe, potentially life-threatening reaction. The challenges of food allergy can be particularly difficult for patients who have allergies to many foods. Treatment options are urgently needed, and we believe ADP101 holds immense promise as a therapeutic modality targeting clinically meaningful allergen desensitization. With this financing, we are delighted to have the continued support of Gurnet Point Capital and to welcome George and Jim to our Board of Directors, who both bring a deep understanding of the food allergy space and can offer meaningful perspective as we advance our clinical programs."
Glenn Reicin, Alladapt's Chief Financial Officer, commented: "The substantial investment on behalf of this expert syndicate of investors enables us to allocate resources to expand the development of ADP101, which has the potential to be the first FDA-approved therapy to treat the majority of U.S. food allergy patients."
"Our firm remains committed to Alladapt's vision for a best-in-class approach that truly aligns with the needs of patients, their families, and clinicians," added Sophie Kornowski, Partner at Gurnet Point Capital, Alladapt's founding investor.
"We are excited to partner with Alladapt given our enthusiasm around oral immunotherapy, or OIT, as an important treatment option in the food allergy therapeutic landscape. I am equally pleased to join Alladapt's Board and support the Company's leadership in its endeavor to treat highly reactive pediatric and adult patients with food allergy," said Jim Momtazee, Managing Partner of Patient Square Capital.
"Having closely followed the food allergy space, and the commercial market at large, Alladapt stands out because of its potentially best-in-class prescription therapeutic targeted to treat multi-allergies simultaneously," said George Montgomery, consultant to WestRiver Group and Senior Advisor to Alvarium Investments LLC. "I look forward to working with Alladapt's co-founders, with whom I have collaborated in the past and who are acclaimed experts in the food allergy space, in addition to Alladapt's seasoned senior executives who hold diversified experiences across the food allergic disease landscape."
In conjunction with the financing, Heath Lukatch, Ph.D., Founder and Managing Partner of Red Tree Venture Capital, will become an Alladapt board observer.
Jefferies, LLC acted as placement agent for the financing.
About Alladapt Immunotherapeutics
Alladapt Immunotherapeutics Inc. is a private, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing prescription therapeutics targeting food allergy. The company is currently conducting the Harmony Study, a Phase 1/2, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluating the efficacy and safety of ADP101 for the treatment of food allergy in children and adults, and the Encore Study, an open-label extension study for its Harmony study. ADP101 is an investigational oral immunotherapy product candidate representing the nine food groups responsible for the vast majority of significant food allergic reactions globally.
Alladapt was co-founded in 2018 by biotechnology entrepreneur, Ashley Dombkowski, Ph.D. and allergist, clinician and protein biochemist, Kari Nadeau, M.D., Ph.D. Dr. Nadeau is also the Naddisy Foundation Endowed Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics and Director of the Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford University. Food allergen specific OIT conducted by Dr. Nadeau and other food allergy experts is an approach that has shown consistently promising results through administration of increasing amounts of an allergen to individuals with food allergy to raise the reactive threshold and decrease the severity of allergic responses to the allergenic food. This work, combined with research on disease mechanisms, pathways, and protein structures, led the founders to envision biopharmaceutical interventions capable of addressing food allergy due to a wide-ranging set of foods. For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.alladapt.com .
About Enavate Sciences
Enavate Sciences is a platform created by Patient Square Capital dedicated to supporting therapeutic companies advancing medicines and enabling technologies with transformative potential to address patient need. Through the application of capital support and operational experience, Enavate strives to enable and empower a diverse portfolio of therapeutics companies to accelerate innovation. To learn more about Enavate, please visit www.enavatesciences.com .
About Gurnet Point Capital
Gurnet Point Capital is a unique healthcare investment platform within the B-Flexion group and led by a team with deep expertise in an industry for which they share a passion, both as investors and senior executives. GPC invests long-term capital and supports entrepreneurs in building a new generation of companies that deliver outsized returns through active ownership. Based in Cambridge, MA, its remit encompasses life sciences and health care focused businesses, with a particular emphasis on businesses that have high growth potential in the product development and commercialization stages of their evolution. With its strategy of driving best in class operational transformation for these businesses, to create social impact while generating significant economic value, Gurnet is able to deliver differentiated results for its investors and partners. www.gurnetpointcapital.com .
Source: Alladapt Immunotherapeutics, Inc.
Investor Contact:
Investor@alladapt.com
Media Contact:
Hannah Gendel
Solebury Trout
646-378-2943
hgendel@soleburytrout.com
