New Investment

LEI: 549300Q7EXQQH6KF7Z84

14 April 2022

RTW Venture Fund Limited

New Investment in LENZ Therapeutics and JIXING China Partnership

·      RTW Venture Fund Limited announces a new portfolio company, LENZ Therapeutics;

·      JIXING and LENZ Therapeutics Announce an Exclusive Greater China License Agreement, JIXING to lead development and commercialization of LNZ100 and LNZ101 in Greater China;

·      LENZ to receive up to $110 million in upfront and milestone payments, as well as royalty payments based on future net sales;

·      RTW to invest $10 million in LENZ Therapeutics.

RTW Venture Fund Limited (the "Company"), a London Stock Exchange-listed investment fund focused on identifying transformative assets with high growth potential across the life sciences sector, is pleased to note the announcement by LENZ Therapeutics (LENZ) that it has entered into an exclusive license agreement with Ji Xing Pharmaceuticals (JIXING) to develop and commercialize LNZ100 (aceclidine) and LNZ101 (aceclidine + brimonidine) for the treatment of presbyopia in Greater China. RTW Investments, LP (the "Investment Manager" or "RTW") invests $10 million in LENZ. 

The Company, alongside other investment vehicle managed by the Investment Manager, confirms it participated in funding of LENZ.

LENZ is a privately-held late-stage clinical company developing innovative ophthalmic pharmaceutical products that improve vision. Its lead programs, LNZ100 and LNZ101, are aceclidine-based eye drops designed to restore the loss of near vision associated with presbyopia. Presbyopia is estimated to impact almost two billion people globally and more than 120 million people in the United States.

JIXING is a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Shanghai committed to bringing innovative science and medicines to underserved patients in China with serious and life-threatening diseases. Backed by the Investment Manager, JIXING was founded in 2019 and partners with global biotechnology companies to develop and commercialize novel, innovative therapeutics to treat unmet medical needs in cardiovascular and ophthalmic diseases. With a strong and further developing asset pipeline, seasoned management team, and patient-centric focus, JIXING is dedicated to delivering a meaningful and lasting impact on patients in Greater China.

Under the licensing agreement, LENZ will receive $15 million in upfront payments and may receive up to $95 million in additional payments, based on various prescribed development, regulatory and commercial milestones as well as royalty payments based on future net sales.

"We are excited to work with pioneering companies like LENZ to advance medical innovation in the field of ophthalmology to benefit more patients around the world," said Roderick Wong, MD, Chairman of JIXING and Managing Partner of RTW. "Through this strategic alliance, we look forward to assisting LENZ in expanding its global reach."

"Age-related ophthalmic diseases are a growing challenge in China, with an estimated 440 million patients suffering from presbyopia," said Joseph Romanelli, CEO of JIXING. "We have built a portfolio in presbyopia and dry eye disease and will continue to expand into more critical ophthalmic disease areas. Our goal is to bring disruptive science to help improve upon the standard of care for patients in China. Today's collaboration with LENZ is another milestone in fulfilling that commitment."

The Investment Manager is looking forward to growing the Company's investment pipeline and updating shareholders on further investments by the Company in due course.

The full text of the announcement is contained below.    

For Further Information

RTW Investments, LP                                    +1 (646) 343 9280
Stephanie Sirota, Chief Business Officer
Alexandra Taracanova, PhD, Director of Investor Relations

Julia Enright, Senior Business Development Associate

Buchanan                                                         +44 (0)20 7466 5107
Charles Ryland

Henry Wilson

George Beale

About RTW Venture Fund Limited:

RTW Venture Fund Limited (LSE: RTW & RTWG) is an investment fund focused on identifying transformative assets with high growth potential across the life sciences sector. Driven by a long-term approach to support innovative businesses, RTW Venture Fund invests in companies developing next-generation therapies and technologies that can significantly improve patients' lives.

RTW Venture Fund Limited is managed by RTW Investments, LP, a leading healthcare-focused entrepreneurial investment firm with deep scientific expertise and a strong track record of supporting companies developing life-changing therapies.

Visit the RTW website at www.rtwfunds.com for more information.

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The information in this announcement may include forward-looking statements, which are based on the current expectations and projections about future events, and in certain cases can be identified by the use of terms such as "may", "will", "should", "expect", "anticipate", "project", "estimate", "intend", "continue", "target", "believe" (or the negatives thereon) or other variations thereon or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements, as well as those included in any related materials, are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions about the Company and/or its underlying investments, including, among other things, the development of the applicable entity's business, trends in its operating industry, expected use of financing proceeds and future capital expenditures and acquisitions. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the events in the forward-looking statements may not occur.

The information contained in this announcement is given at the date of its publication (unless otherwise marked). No reliance may be placed for any purpose whatsoever on the information or opinions contained in this announcement or on its completeness, accuracy or fairness.

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LENZ Therapeutics and JIXING Announce an Exclusive Greater China License Agreement; RTW to Invest in LENZ Therapeutics

- JIXING to lead development and commercialization of LNZ100 and LNZ101 in Greater China -

- LENZ to receive up to $110 million in upfront and milestone payments, as well as royalty payments based on future net sales -

- RTW to invest $10 million in LENZ Therapeutics -

SAN DIEGO & SHANGHAI & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- LENZ Therapeutics (LENZ), a biopharmaceutical company with a lead late clinical-stage program that represents a potential best-in-class therapy for presbyopia, today announced that it has entered into an exclusive license agreement with Ji Xing Pharmaceuticals (JIXING) to develop and commercialize LNZ100 (aceclidine) and LNZ101 (aceclidine + brimonidine) for the treatment of presbyopia in Greater China. JIXING is a biotechnology company headquartered in Shanghai and backed by RTW Investments, LP (RTW), a leading healthcare investment firm, that is focused on advancing innovative medicines for patients with ophthalmic and cardiovascular diseases in China. In addition, RTW will invest $10 million in LENZ Therapeutics.

Under the licensing agreement, LENZ will receive $15 million in upfront payments and may receive up to $95 million in additional payments, based on various prescribed development, regulatory and commercial milestones as well as royalty payments based on future net sales.

"We are very excited to work with JIXING and jointly bring our products to one of the largest presbyopia markets in the world," said Eef Schimmelpennink, CEO of LENZ Therapeutics. "In addition, the investment by RTW highlights the promise of LENZ to emerge as a global leader based on its potential best-in-class aceclidine presbyopia eye drop."

"Age-related ophthalmic diseases are a growing challenge in China, with an estimated 440 million patients suffering from presbyopia," said Joseph Romanelli, CEO of JIXING. "We have built a portfolio in presbyopia and dry eye disease and will continue to expand into more critical ophthalmic disease areas. Our goal is to bring disruptive science to help improve upon the standard of care for patients in China. Today's collaboration with LENZ is another milestone in fulfilling that commitment."

"We are excited to work with pioneering companies like LENZ to advance medical innovation in the field of ophthalmology to benefit more patients around the world," said Roderick Wong, MD, Chairman of JIXING and Managing Partner of RTW. "Through this strategic alliance, we look forward to assisting LENZ in expanding its global reach."

About LNZ100 (aceclidine) and LNZ101 (aceclidine + brimonidine)

Aceclidine is a small molecule acetylcholine receptor agonist that causes pupil contraction, or miosis, creating a pinhole effect that improves near vision. Studies have shown that aceclidine's mechanism of action (MOA) is ideally positioned to create a pinhole pupil effect while avoiding myopic shift. It is crucial to minimize myopic shift as it can significantly impair distance vision for a majority of presbyopes.

Aceclidine's unique MOA, in which miosis is decoupled from myopic shift, is expected to allow it to target the broadest patient population.

In clinical trials, LENZ has shown that near-vision improvement correlates to aceclidine's ability to maintain a pinhole pupil sweet spot of 1.5 mm to 2 mm for at least seven hours. There was no loss and a slight trend toward net gain in best corrected distance vision. In addition, aceclidine was well tolerated with no serious adverse events and with mild discomfort on instillation as the most common side effect.

LENZ's INSIGHT clinical trial will serve as a confirmatory lead-in for its Phase 3 trial that is planned for 2H 2022.

About LENZ

LENZ is a late-stage clinical company developing innovative ophthalmic pharmaceutical products that improve vision. Its lead programs, LNZ100 and LNZ101, are aceclidine-based eye drops designed to restore the loss of near vision associated with presbyopia. Presbyopia is estimated to impact almost two billion people globally and more than 120 million people in the United States. LENZ is headquartered in San Diego, California, and is backed by blue-chip venture capital investors for the development and commercialization of LNZ100 and LNZ101. For more information, visit: LENZ-Tx.com.

About JIXING

JIXING is a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Shanghai committed to bringing innovative science and medicines to underserved patients in China with serious and life-threatening diseases. Backed by RTW Investments, LP, JIXING was founded in 2019 and partners with global biotechnology companies to develop and commercialize novel, innovative therapeutics to treat unmet medical needs in cardiovascular and ophthalmic diseases. With a strong and further developing asset pipeline, seasoned management team, and patient-centric focus, JIXING is dedicated to delivering a meaningful and lasting impact on patients in Greater China. For further information about JIXING, please visit www.jixingbio.com.

About RTW

RTW Investments, LP (RTW) is a New York-based, global, full life-cycle investment firm that focuses on identifying transformational and disruptive innovations across the biopharmaceutical and medical technologies sectors. As a leading partner of industry and academia, RTW combines deep scientific expertise with a solution-oriented investment approach to advance emerging medical therapies by building and supporting the companies and/or academics developing them. For further information about RTW, please visit www.RTWfunds.com.

CONTACTS

Shawn Olsson
LENZ Therapeutics
IR@LENZ-Tx.com

Josh Baldwin
Managing Director, Communications
RTW Investments
(332) 910-7844
jjgb@rtwfunds.com

Ji Xing Pharmaceuticals
media@jixingbio.com