Arix leads $152 million Series B financing for Pyxis Oncology

Arix leads $152 million Series B financing for Pyxis Oncology

·         Arix announces a new portfolio company, Pyxis Oncology, with a 5.6% ownership stake

• Series B proceeds will enable Pyxis to advance differentiated antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) and immune oncology programmes to next value inflection point
• Arix Managing Director Christian Schetter will join Pyxis’ Board of Directors

LONDON, 30 March 2021: Arix Bioscience plc (“Arix” or “the Company”), a global venture capital company focused on investing in and building breakthrough biotech companies, today announces that it has invested in Pyxis Oncology ("Pyxis"), a new portfolio company. As part of the financing, Arix Managing Director Christian Schetter will join Pyxis’ Board of Directors.

Pyxis is building a differentiated portfolio of biologics, including antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and immunotherapies, to improve the lives of patients with difficult-to-treat cancers.

Pyxis will use the proceeds from the financing to advance its differentiated portfolio of ADCs, a growing class of therapies that deliver highly potent targeted treatments directly to cancer cells. Pyxis will also continue advancing its immuno-oncology pipeline to pursue a broad range of therapeutic indications.

Christian Schetter, PhD, Managing Director at Arix and Board Director at Pyxis, commented:

"We are pleased to lead this funding round for Pyxis. Our investment reflects our enthusiasm for the strength of both the management team and the Company’s diverse pipeline of biologics, which have the potential to make a meaningful difference for patients. Immuno-oncology and ADCs represent two of the most promising strategies for treating cancer and we look forward to supporting this team of industry veterans as they build on their history of advancing ground-breaking therapies for patients suffering from difficult-to-treat cancers."

Lara Sullivan, MD, Chief Executive Officer of Pyxis, commented:

"Arix were instrumental in putting together this investor syndicate and we value their experience in oncology, as we strive to improve the lives of patients with difficult-to-treat cancers, with our potentially groundbreaking ADCs and immunotherapies. This financing strengthens our ability to build a differentiated portfolio of biologics and allows us to accelerate our efforts to advance multiple promising programs into Phase 1 clinical trials."

Alongside Arix, new investors RTW Investments, LP, Perceptive Advisors, RA Capital Management, Pfizer Ventures, BVF Partners, L.P., Janus Henderson Investors, Cormorant Asset Management, HBM Healthcare Investments, funds managed by Tekla Capital Management LLC, Acuta Capital Partners, Ridgeback Capital Investments, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), Laurion Capital Management, Logos Capital, and LifeSci Venture Partners invested in the financing. Existing Pyxis shareholders, Leaps by Bayer, Longwood Fund, Ipsen and Agent Capital also participated in the offering.