AnHeart Announces Entry into Series A+ Equity Financing Agreements
August 18, 2020
- Proceeds to be Used for Advancing Taletrectinib Phase 2 Trials and Expanding Oncology Portfolio
Hangzhou, China/New York – August 10, 2020 – AnHeart Therapeutics, Co., Ltd. (“AnHeart”), a clinical stage oncology company focused on underserved patients in global markets, has entered into agreements to raise over 20 million USD in an over-subscribed Series A+ equity financing round.
Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance the global Phase 2 trials of taletrectinib, a potent and highly selective next generation ROS1/NTRK inhibitor as well as to further expand AnHeart’s oncology portfolio.
“The financing will permit us to execute on our global development plan for taletrectinib, and help advance this differentiated cancer drug for utilization in a large population of NSCLC patients with ROS1 and NTRK mutations,” said Junyuan (Jerry) Wang, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of AnHeart. “In addition, we desire to expand into other oncology adjacencies where we may have a competitive advantage and to deepen our pipeline over time. We value the support of our experienced and esteemed investors to help us execute on our vision.”
About Taletrectinib:
The lead clinical candidate taletrectinib is a next-generation, potent, highly selective ROS1 and NTRK inhibitor that can cross the blood-brain barrier. AnHeart licensed the global rights to taletrectinib from Daiichi Sankyo Company Limited. Two Phase 1 studies in the U.S. and Japan have been reported with promising safety and efficacy data. Taletrectinib inhibits both ROS1 fusion WT and crizotinib-resistant secondary mutations, including G2032R. There is no approved drug against resistant mutations like G2032R, which may lead to rapid penetration of taletrectinib in major global markets. The mutation rate of the oncogenic driver ROS1 fusion is about 2 to 3 percent in patients with advanced NSCLC, and the rate of NTRK fusion is about 0.5 percent in patients with various solid tumors. The estimated number of new patients diagnosed with advanced NSCLC each year is about 1.8 million worldwide.
The results of two Phase 1 studies in the US and Japan support the potential of taletrectinib to be a next generation ROS1/NTRK inhibitor with durable responses and activity in brain metastases. Based on a data cutoff date in March 2019 from two Phase 1 trials, the mPFS in TKI-naïve and 1 TKI-pretreated patients were 24.9 months and 18.4 months, respectively, with a generally acceptable safety profile. More information about the Phase 1 and ongoing phase 2 trials may be found at clinicaltrials.gov with NCT02279433, NCT02675491 and NCT04395677.
About AnHeart:
AnHeart Therapeutics Co., Ltd. (AnHeart”) is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel oncology therapies. AnHeart is headquartered in Hangzhou, China with offices in Beijing, Shanghai and New York. Formed in November 2018, AnHeart is currently managed by biopharmaceuticals industry veterans and financially backed by venture capital funds.
Forward Looking Statements
Statements contained in this press release regarding matters that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our or our industry’s actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those anticipated by such statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” “intends,” or “continue,” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements contained in this presentation include, but are not limited to, (i) statements regarding the timing of anticipated clinical trials for our product candidates and our research and development programs; (ii) the timing of receipt of clinical data for our product candidates; (iii) our expectations regarding the potential safety, efficacy, or clinical utility of our product candidates; (iv) the size of patient populations targeted by our product candidates and market adoption of our product candidates by physicians and patients; and (v) the timing or likelihood of regulatory filings and approvals. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. This Presentation discusses product candidates that are under clinical study and which have not yet been approved for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or regulatory agencies in other countries. No representation is made as to the safety or effectiveness of these product candidates for the use for which such product candidates are being studied.
AnHeart Contact:
Akira Jing Liu, MD
Director of Business Development
(86) 137-0181-9470 (c)
ajliu@anhearttherapeutics.com
Investor Relations Contact:
Irina Koffler
Managing Director
LifeSci Advisors, LLC
646-970-4681 (w)
917-734-7387 (c)
ikoffler@lifesciadvisors.com
