Arix Pharmaceuticals participates in $67m funding of antifungal agent

Arix Bioscience announced on Wednesday that it has taken part in a $67m Series C group financing round to take a stake in Amplyx Pharmaceuticals.

The group of investors also included Sofinnova Venture Partners, which led the round, Lundbeckfonden Ventures and Pappas Ventures, in addition to existing investors New Enterprise Associates, RiverVest Venture Partners, 3x5 RiverVest II, and BioMed Ventures.

Amplyx is a San Diego-based firm which focuses on developing antifungal agents for the treatment of life-threatening fungal infections and has recently completed Phase I clinical trials for both intravenous and oral formulations of APX001, which targets and inhibits the enzymes that allow growth in major fungal pathogens, such as Candida and Aspergillus.

Financing proceeds will be used to advance the drug into Phase II clinical trials.

The US Food & Drug Authority (FDA) has designated APX001 a Qualified Infectious Disease Product for the treatment of multiple fungal infections, as well as granting it orphan drug registration.

Joe Anderson, Chief Executive Officer of Arix Bioscience, commented, "Invasive, life-threatening fungal infections present a serious unmet medical need, particularly for patients with compromised immune function, as the number of therapeutic options is quite limited. There have been relatively few recent advances in this area, and many existing agents are difficult to use, poorly tolerated or ineffective due to the rise of drug-resistant strains. The novel treatment that Amplyx is developing is potentially transformative, and we are pleased to support its continued development by a proven management team, alongside an experienced group of co-investors."

As of BST 1415 shares were 195.50p, an increase of 2.84%