Press Release

Forbion participates in £29M Series B Financing of Enterprise Therapeutics to Advance its Ion Channel Modulators for the treatment of Cystic-fibrosis, COPD and severe asthma

Naarden, The Netherlands, 12 April 2018 – Forbion, one of the leading European life science venture capital firms, today announces that it participated together with new investors Versant Ventures and Novartis Venture Fund and existing investors Epidarex Capital and IP Group in an oversubscribed £29M investment round in the UK biotech company Enterprise Therapeutics. The investment will fund the Company’s drug discovery pipeline of muco-regulatory therapies into clinical development, enabling new treatment options for cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and severe asthma.

Enterprise Therapeutics is developing muco-regulatory therapies to treat patients with respiratory diseases of high unmet medical need, where mucus obstruction reduces lung function, leading to difficulty in breathing and recurrent lung infections. These novel therapies target the ion channels TMEM16A and ENaC, to increase the hydration and clearance of mucus. Enterprise Therapeutics has also identified novel targets and compounds that reduce mucus production, an approach that complements mucus hydration therapies.

Forbion focuses on supporting novel approaches that have the potential to truly impact the future of medicine” commented Geert-Jan Mulder, Managing Partner, Forbion. “As Enterprise Therapeutics has both a highly innovative R&D pipeline and an experienced leadership team, the Company in our view is well positioned to become a key player in the field of respiratory medicine.

Commenting on the fundraising, Dr John Ford, CEO, Enterprise Therapeutics, said: “Attracting this syndicate of leading life science investors  is a reflection of what the Company has achieved to date and the strength of our pipeline. John Ford was previously an executive at Forbion’s portfolio companies Dezima Pharma, Ario and Xention.

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Notes to Editors

About Forbion
Forbion is a dedicated life sciences venture capital firm with offices in The Netherlands and Germany. Forbion invests in life sciences companies that are active in the pharmaceutical, as well as the medical device space. Forbion’s investment team has built an impressive performance track record since the late nineties with successful investments in over 50 companies. Forbion manages well over EUR 800 million across nine funds. Its investors include the EIF, through its European Recovery Programme (ERP), LfA and Dutch Venture Initiative (DVI) facilities and the KFW through the ERP – Venture Capital Fondsfinanzierung facility. Forbion also operates a joint venture with BGV, the manager of seed and early stage funds focused on Benelux and Germany. www.forbion.com

About Enterprise
Enterprise Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the research and development of novel therapies for the treatment of respiratory diseases. In diseases such as cystic fibrosis, asthma and COPD the lungs become congested with mucus leading to difficulty in breathing. Enterprise Therapeutics’ scientific strategy is aimed at discovering new disease modifying therapies that target the underlying mechanisms of mucus congestion, which will reduce the frequency of lung infections and improve patient quality of life. These novel muco-regulatory therapies will be achieved through targeting TMEM16A and ENaC to increase the hydration and clearance of mucus. Enterprise has also identified novel targets and compounds that reduce mucus production, an approach that complements mucus hydration therapies.

Its management team has significant expertise in drug discovery, drug development, respiratory biology and ion channel pharmacology. The Company benefits from a close working relationship with the School of Life Sciences at the University of Sussex and was seed funded by leading healthcare investor Epidarex Capital. www.enterprisetherapeutics.com

About Cystic Fibrosis (CF)
CF is the most common lethal genetic disease of Caucasians with an estimated 100,000 patients worldwide. The average life expectancy, although improving, is approximately 40 years.

About Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
COPD is a chronic disease characterised by a progressive and irreversible decrease in lung function. Globally, COPD is reported to affect over 300 million people and in 2012 was the world’s third highest killer. The estimated global economic cost of COPD is >$2 trillion.

About Severe Asthma
Patients with severe asthma are either refractory or poorly managed by current therapies (bronchodilators, steroids). Severe asthma patients comprise around 5% of the estimated 300 million global asthma patients.

Forbion contact:
Geert-Jan Mulder
Managing Partner
P: +31 652715476
E: geert-jan.mulder@forbion.com

Media contact:
Instinctif Partners (on behalf of Forbion)
Melanie Toyne Sewell / Ashley Tapp
P: +44 (0) 20 7457 2020
E: forbion@instinctif.com