- Financing led by OrbiMed, Avoro Capital, and Samsara BioCapital, with additional investment from founding investor Medicxi
- Strengthens its leadership team with the appointments of industry veterans Rick Anderson as SVP Finance, Spencer Fisk as Chief Technical and Quality Officer, and Ling Zeng as General Counsel and EVP of Execution
- IND-enabling studies underway for first-in-class PD1/VEGFR2 bifunctional antibody
LONDON and BOSTON, Dec. 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Ottimo Pharma (“Ottimo”), a private biotech company pioneering bifunctional medicines to extend the lives of people living with cancer, today announces the completion of a Series A financing round of over $140 million. The financing will accelerate the lead asset, Jankistomig, a first-in-class PD1/VEGFR2 bifunctional antibody for multiple solid tumor indications, in both IV and SC forms as well as a pipeline of follow-on bifunctional assets.
The round was led by OrbiMed, Avoro Capital, Samsara BioCapital, and included blue chip investors RTW Investments, Decheng Capital, Janus Henderson Investors, J.P. Morgan Life Sciences Private Capital, Invus, and founding investor Medicxi. In connection with the financing Peter Thompson (OrbiMed), Mark Chin (Avoro Capital), and Srini Akkaraju (Samsara BioCapital) will join the Board of Directors.
Simultaneously, Ottimo has expanded its management team under the leadership of David Epstein, Chair and Chief Executive Officer. The Company announces the appointment of Rick Anderson as SVP Finance, Spencer Fisk as Chief Technical and Quality Officer, and Ling Zeng as General Counsel and EVP of Execution. Rick, Spencer, and Ling bring extensive pharma experience, having held senior roles at Seagen, Novartis, and Dicerna Pharmaceuticals.
Ottimo, co-founded by Medicxi and Jonny Finlay, emerged from stealth in October 2024. It is advancing IND-enabling studies for lead molecule Jankistomig, with a planned IND filing in late 2025.
Jankistomig is a first-in-class PD1/VEGFR2 bifunctional antibody that is differentiated from bispecific antibodies. It is exquisitely designed as a dual pathway, biparatopic single-agent IgG therapy, targeting immune checkpoint inhibition and angiogenesis in the treatment of cancer. This innovative approach aims to offer a wider therapeutic window regardless of tumor VEGF levels, with the potential to improve outcomes across multiple solid tumor indications. Jankistomig is expected to address a global oncology market valued at well over $50 billion.
David Epstein, Chair & Chief Executive Officer of Ottimo Pharma, said: “The successful completion of our Series A financing marks a milestone for Ottimo as we advance our goal to make first-in-class bifunctional medicines to extend the lives of people living with cancer. Jankistomig represents a significant breakthrough with its novel design and mechanism of action, and we are incredibly grateful to have the backing of such well-renowned healthcare investors. With the addition of Rick, Spencer, and Ling, we have assembled a proven leadership team to progress Ottimo to our first IND by late 2025.”
Peter Thompson, General Partner at OrbiMed, Board Director of Ottimo Pharma, commented: “Ottimo’s unique approach has differentiated itself in the PD1/VEGF field. We are looking forward to working alongside this experienced team with their extensive track record to develop new cancer treatments with improved outcomes for patients.”
Francesco De Rubertis, Co-Founder and Partner at Medicxi, Board Director of Ottimo Pharma added: “Ottimo has shown considerable progress with Jankistomig. As a co-founder of the Company, we are pleased to welcome top-tier investors including OrbiMed, Avoro Capital, and Samsara BioCapital to the syndicate as we advance the pipeline to address multiple solid tumor indications.”
Fredric (Rick) Anderson has more than 30 years of leadership experience in strategic financial and operations management. Rick was the Vice President, Corporate Controller for Seagen Inc. from 2018, where he supported the Company’s growth and international expansion. He was a key member of the leadership team that led the $44 billion acquisition by Pfizer and supported the post-acquisition integration. Rick holds an MBA from the University of San Diego. He started his career as a CPA for Ernst & Young and later joined their mergers & acquisition group.
Spencer Fisk has more than 30 years of experience in manufacturing and CMC product development. Spencer joins Ottimo from National Resilience, Inc. where he transformed the R&D focus to deliver on disruptive approaches to accelerate multi-modality drug development. From 2018 to 2022, he served as the Chief Technical Operations Officer at Rubius Therapeutics. Before Rubius he held senior roles at Novartis AG where he led the team to the successful registration and launch of the first CAR-T cellular therapy product, Kymriah. Prior to Novartis, Spencer held various technical development and manufacturing roles at Merck, Genentech, Genencor, and Novo Nordisk.
Ling Zeng, Esq. was previously Chief Legal and Administrative Officer and a member of the executive leadership team of Omega Therapeutics. Prior to Omega, she was the Chief Legal Officer and Secretary of Dicerna Pharmaceuticals and played a critical role in executing the Company’s strategy including the $3.3 billion acquisition by Novo Nordisk in 2021. Before working in biotech companies, Ling was Deputy Head Legal, Group Mergers and Acquisitions, at Novartis AG, responsible for global transactions across the Novartis Group. From 2009 to 2017, Ling held various executive roles of increasing responsibility at Bausch Health Companies.
About Ottimo Pharma
Ottimo Pharma is a private biotechnology company, co-founded in 2020 by Medicxi and Jonny Finlay, focused on the development of pioneering innovative cancer therapies for solid tumors. The Company’s lead asset, Jankistomig, is a PD1/VEGFR2 bifunctional antibody designed as a dual pathway, biparatopic single-agent IgG therapy, targeting both immune checkpoint inhibition and angiogenesis in the treatment of cancer. By advancing this dual-pathway approach, Ottimo aims to offer a wider therapeutic window, improve cancer treatment outcomes and reduce the overall healthcare burden. Ottimo anticipates filing of its first IND in late 2025.
Ottimo is backed by a global syndicate of life science investors including Medicxi, OrbiMed, Avoro Capital, Samsara BioCapital, RTW Investments, Decheng Capital, Janus Henderson Investors, J.P. Morgan Life Sciences Private Capital, and Invus. The Ottimo board includes Francesco De Rubertis, Co-Founder and Partner of Medicxi, Peter Thompson, General Partner at OrbiMed, Mark Chin, Partner at Avoro Capital, and Srinivas Akkaraju, founder, and Managing General Partner at Samsara BioCapital, alongside David Epstein and James Sabry. For more information, please visit: www.ottimopharma.com.
About OrbiMed
OrbiMed is a leading healthcare investment firm, with $17 billion in assets under management. OrbiMed invests globally across the healthcare industry, from start-ups to large multinational corporations, through private equity funds, public equity funds, and royalty/credit funds. OrbiMed seeks to be a capital provider of choice, providing tailored financing solutions and extensive global team resources to help build world-class healthcare companies. OrbiMed’s team of over 100 professionals is based in New York City, London, San Francisco, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Herzliya, and other key global markets. For more information, please visit www.orbimed.com. Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) @OrbiMed.
About Avoro Capital
Avoro Capital is a global life sciences investment firm with over $6.5 billion in capital primarily focused on supporting emerging life sciences and biotechnology companies. For more information, please visit: www.avorocapital.com
About Samsara BioCapital
Samsara BioCapital is a new breed of biotech investment firm focused on translating cutting-edge biology into new therapies to treat patients with unmet medical needs. Founded in 2016 by Srinivas Akkaraju, M.D., Ph.D., our team of scientists, investors and entrepreneurs takes a long-term view on value creation across all stages of public and private life science companies. We believe in a collaborative, hands-on approach, working closely with entrepreneurs to harness exciting scientific advances and build leading companies. Samsara actively manages assets on behalf of endowments, foundations, and family offices. For more information, please visit www.samsaracap.com.
About Medicxi
Medicxi is a healthcare-focused investment firm with the mission to create and invest in companies across the full drug development continuum. Leveraging deep expertise in drug development and company creation spanning over two decades, Medicxi invests in early and late-stage therapeutics with a product vision that can fulfill a clear unmet medical need. For more information, please visit: www.medicxi.com
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