ORI Healthcare Fund has led a USD100 million series C investment in Kymab Group, a UK Cambridge-based company focusing on generating antibodies to treat challenging diseases based on the proprietary Kymouse antibody platform.
ORI Fund is the lead investor in the series; other investors include Wellcome Trust, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Shenzhen Hepalink Pharmaceutical, Malin Corporation, CF Woodford Equity Income Fund and Woodford Patient Capital.
Kymab's Kymouse platform contains the entire repertoire of human antibodies. The platform has the capability to discover antibodies that are difficult to develop and produce as it naturally matures these molecules to highly potent drugs obviating the need for further time-consuming modifications.
The company currently has 12 pre-clinical programmes under development that are with a strong focus on immuno-oncology while also covering haematology, autoimmune disease and infectious disease.
The transaction is consistent with ORI Fund's investment philosophy to invest in innovative platform companies that can continuously innovate and produce important life-saving drugs.
"We are very fortunate to have the opportunity to invest in Kymab which has a world class technology platform, world class pipeline, world class management team and world class investor base. We will contribute to the growth of Kymab by supporting Kymab's China strategies and execution leveraging our expertise and network in China,” says Simone Song, senior partner of ORI Fund.
