BioCentury
ARTICLE | Financial News

Apellis raises $60M in series E

August 10, 2017 9:02 PM UTC

Autoimmune company Apellis Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Crestwood, Ky.) raised $60 million in a series E round led by Sectoral Asset Management. New investors Sofinnova Ventures, Vivo Capital, F-Prime Capital Partners and funds advised by Clough Capital and venBio Select also participated, as did existing investors Morningside Ventures, Cormorant Asset Management, venBio Global Strategic Fund and Epidarex.

Next quarter, the company plans to start a Phase III program of its lead compound APL-2 to treat paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH). The program will include a trial evaluating a combination of APL-2 with Soliris eculizumab from Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ALXN) compared to Soliris alone. A second Phase III trial, slated to start next year, will evaluate APL-2 head-to-head with Soliris. APL-2 is a complement 3 (C3) inhibitor (see BioCentury Extra, June 29)...