Gemin X Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Closes $38 Million Series C Financing to Advance Lead Cancer Drug, Obatoclax, Into Registration Trials
MALVERN, Pa. & MONTREAL -- Gemin X Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held pharmaceutical company focused on developing novel treatments for cancer, today announced the closing of a $38 million tranched Series C financing. The financing was led by the Caxton Advantage Life Sciences Fund and Caxton Global. All previous Gemin X investors also participated in the financing, including: Sanderling Ventures, H.I.G. Ventures, CDP/Vantage Point, ProQuest, Merlin BioMed Group, HBM Partners, Canadian Medical Discoveries Fund, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board, SoftBank Life Science, Business Development Bank of Canada, Solidarity Fund QFL, and Pinnacle Bioventures.
"This significant Series C financing validates the promise of Gemin X's unique, un-partnered small molecule cancer programs that target specialized cancer pathways," stated Dr. Glenn Gormley, President and CEO of Gemin X. "Proceeds from this transaction will be used to advance the registration trial process of our lead cancer drug, obatoclax, a novel, first-in-class small molecule pan Bcl-2 inhibitor. This financing will also support continued development of our second clinical compound, GMX1777, a NAMPRT inhibitor, as well as the advancement of our other pipeline candidates."
"Gemin X has generated exciting human clinical data with obatoclax in a range of hematological and solid tumor cancers as both a single agent and a combination therapy," stated Eric Roberts, Managing Director of Caxton Advantage, who joined Gemin X's board of directors concurrent with the initiation of the financing. "The Company has demonstrated its commitment to bring obatoclax into registration trials, and has also successfully built a solid pipeline of cancer therapies. The potential for near-term clinical milestones, as well as the broad potential of Gemin X's lead programs for additional indications, make the Company an attractive investment."
About Obatoclax
Obatoclax (GX15-070) is a small molecule indole bipyrrole drug compound that was discovered and is being developed at Gemin X. The attractive safety profile and mechanism of action of obatoclax offers the opportunity to treat many forms of cancer as both a single agent and in combination with current treatments. Obatoclax is currently being assessed in multiple Phase 2 company-sponsored clinical trials directed against several solid tumor and hematologic malignancies. In clinical trials to date, obatoclax has been generally well tolerated, without any evidence of immuno- or myelosuppression.
About Gemin X Pharmaceuticals
Gemin X Pharmaceuticals specializes in the discovery and development of novel target-based cancer therapeutics. Gemin X's lead product, obatoclax (GX15-070), a small molecule, pan Bcl-2 inhibitor, is currently in Phase 2 clinical trials in both hematological and solid tumor cancers. Gemin X's second compound GMX1777, is a potent, small molecule that specifically inhibits nicotinamide phosphoribosyl transferase (NAMPRT), resulting in cancer cell death independently of the tumor suppressor p53. It is currently in a Phase 1 clinical trial in patients with refractory solid tumors and lymphomas. Gemin X is privately held and is located in Malvern, Pennsylvania and Montreal, Canada. www.geminx.com