Izana Bioscience Ltd.

Nodenza Venture Partners launched Focus on international early-stage and pre-commercial biotech & medtech opportunities New York, October 16, 2024 – Nodenza Venture Partners (“Nodenza”) has been launched to provide financial and operational support to early-stage and pre-commercial biotech and medtech companies and products. Established by a team of experienced life sciences entrepreneurs, founders and leaders, Nodenza already has a pipeline of unique high value opportunities. Ross Morton, Managing Partner of Nodenza Venture Partners, said: “Nodenza is focused on identifying, investing in and supporting disruptive technologies and therapies with the potential to deliver exceptional benefits to patients which Nodenza believes to be the most successful driver of long-term capital returns. Our expert team has a strong track record of delivering success in the life sciences industry.” Nodenza’s bi-modal investment strategy combines early-stage opportunities – advancing new treatment modalities through active IND to phase 2 - with pre-commercial targets supporting their transition from scientific to commercial companies delivering strong upside potential. The approach leverages Nodenza’s expertise in the creation and growth of new companies, as well as late-stage product development and launch. “Our leadership team blends strong drug development and process skills to ensure we invest in the best opportunities, with hands-on mentorship and guidance to support the optimal growth of portfolio companies. We are targeting three to four investments in the first year of operation and look forward to working alongside other venture partners to maximize our impact and build a portfolio of innovative and well-resourced companies,” Morton said. The Nodenza team includes: Ross Morton, Managing Director, former COO of Akaza Bioscience and head of strategy and operations at Izana Bioscience, sold to Roivant in 2020.Dr Tim Corn, Partner, a specialist in clinical & regulatory affairs with extensive experience as Chief Medical Officer involved in more than 20 FDA & EMA approvals; formerly at GSK, Elan & the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).Bryan Morton, Chairman and Partner, formerly EUSA Pharma CEO & Chairman, Private Equity Operating Partner and with extensive commercialization experience; previously at Merck & BMS.Dr Dev Kumar, Partner, former GC of EUSA Pharma with expertise in IP and market access; Dr Kumar has worked at Biogen, UCB and BI and qualified as a medical doctor & lawyer.Dr Gary Whale, Partner, the CTO of Zura Bio with expertise in CMC and product launch; formerly at EUSA Pharma, VHsquared and P&G. Nodenza is in the process of establishing an Advisory Board. Contacts: Nodenza Venture Partners Ross Morton, Managing Partnerinfo@nodenza.com Mo Advisory PRmo@mopradvisory.comMo Noonan / Jonathan Birt Notes to Editors About Nodenza Venture PartnersNodenza Venture Partners provides investment and operational support to early-stage and pre-commercial biotech and medtech companies and products designed to bring exceptional patient benefit. Our bi-modal investment strategy combines early-stage opportunities – advancing new treatment modalities through active IND to phase 2 - with pre-commercial targets supporting their transition from scientific to commercial companies delivering strong upside potential. Established by a team of experienced life sciences entrepreneurs, founders and leaders, our approach leverages Nodenza’s extensive expertise in the creation and growth of new companies, as well as late-stage product development and launch. For more information visit us at https://www.nodenza.com Attachment Nodenza Launch Final

OXFORD, England, March 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MitoRx Therapeutics (MitoRx), a biotechnology company developing revolutionary therapeutics that reverse mitochondrial dysfunction to arrest the progression of degenerative diseases, announces Christine Charman as Chief Development Officer, David Richardson as Finance Director, and four appointments to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB): Prof Chas Bountra, Prof Dame Kay Davies, Prof Laurent Servais, and Dr Bernd C Schwahn. Prof Chas Bountra OBE is now Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board. He commented on his appointment: “It’s an honour and a pleasure to come together with top international scientific and clinical experts to build the MitoRx Scientific Advisory Board. Together we are working to become a global leader in treating diseases caused by impaired mitochondrial function.” Chas is Pro-Vice Chancellor for Innovation at the University of Oxford, Professor of Translational Medicine in the Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, Director of the Centre for Medicines Discovery, and Professorial Fellow at Keble College, Oxford. Prior to coming back to Oxford in 2008, Chas was Vice President and Head of Biology at GlaxoSmithKline. Chas is an invited expert on several government and charitable research funding bodies, and an advisor for many academic, biotech and pharma drug discovery programmes. In 2012 he was voted one of the “top innovators in the industry”, in 2014 received the “Rita and John Cornforth Award” from the Royal Society of Chemistry, in 2017 and 2018 was voted “Master of the Bench” from the Medicine Maker Power List, and in 2018 was awarded the “Order of the British Empire” in the New Years Honours List. Also joining the board is Prof Dame Kay Davies CBE DBE FRS FMedSci, Dr Lee’s Professor of Anatomy Emeritus at the University of Oxford with an international reputation for work on Duchenne muscular dystrophy paving the way for several nucleic acid related therapies. Prof Davies is a co-founder and co-Director of the MDUK Oxford Neuromuscular Centre, and co-founded Summit Therapeutics plc to translate her work into the clinic. Prof Laurent Servais MD PhD directs the Specialised Translational Research Oxford Neuromuscular Group as Professor of Paediatric Neuromuscular Disease at the University of Oxford, and he is Professor of Child Neurology at the University of Liège. He brings a wealth of experience to the Scientific Advisory Board having led many clinical trials as principal investigator for Duchenne muscular dystrophy and spinal muscular atrophy treatments. Dr Bernd C Schwahn MD PhD FRCPCH, Consultant in Paediatric Metabolic Medicine at the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer in Genomic Medicine, also joins the board. Dr Schwahn’s scientific interest focuses on disorders of sulfur amino acid metabolism and has been involved as principal and chief investigator in clinical trials for the treatment of molybdenum cofactor deficiency, lysosomal storage disorders and disorders of intermediary metabolism. Chief Development Officer Christine Charman PhD comes with close to 26 years’ experience in accelerating transformational therapies as Senior Global Program Lead for Takeda’s Rare Diseases, Respiratory and Immunology and Neuroscience therapy areas. She also worked as consultant CDO at Izana Bioscience and development consultant for a range of Biotechs and NewCos and Program Lead supporting UK Vaccine and Antiviral Task Forces, with further development experience at Novartis from preclinical research leadership to Senior Global Programme Director, including the planning, clinical execution and launch of two products. David Richardson BSc ACMA AMCT brings over 30 years finance experience to his new role as Finance Director. He has held board positions at a number of venture-backed technology companies and his experience in the industry includes senior finance roles within both AstraZeneca and Evotec. Jonathan Rees PhD, CEO of MitoRx, said, “We are thrilled to welcome our new SAB members, as well as Christine Charman as Chief Development Officer and David Richardson as Finance Director, who together bring a wealth of renowned experience across financial, scientific and clinical backgrounds. The wide ranging expertise gained from our growing team and advisory board will accelerate progress of our first-in-class, first-in-target small molecules which are now being pre-clinically tested in a mammalian model of muscular dystrophy. We look forward to working with them all.” Notes to Editors Media Contact (Scius Communications) Katja StoutEmail: katja@sciuscommunications.comPhone: +44(0)7789 435990 Daniel Gooch Email: Daniel@sciuscommunications.comPhone: : +44(0)7747 875 479 Company Contact (MitoRx) Jonathan Rees, CEOEmail: jon.rees@mitorxtherapeutics.comPhone: +44(0)7826 556622 About MitoRx At MitoRx our mission is to become the leading global developer of medicines arresting the progression of degenerative diseases driven by mitochondrial dysfunction. We are a preclinical research stage biotechnology company developing our first-in-class, orally delivered, mitochondrial protective therapeutics targeting rare neuromuscular disorders, rare metabolic diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases. Located in Harwell Oxford, we have raised seed financing from a broad range of investors including the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund, The Fink Family Office, Science Angel Syndicate, Oxford Technology Management, Wren Capital, Longevitytech.fund, as well as angel investors. For more information visit our website at www.mitorxtherapeutics.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

After watching the entire clinical trial process go through a major makeover during the pandemic, another software outfit is making a play to help developers get on the cutting edge of trial design and decentralized execution. Hoboken, NJ-based Castor has just raised $45 million to fund development of software intended to scale up their “direct-to-patients” approach globally. This new round brings their total funding to $65 million. Eight Roads Ventures and F-Prime Capital led the round, with participation from existing investors Two Sigma Ventures and Inkef Capital. The big idea here is that patients can enroll in trials online, uploading data as they go through the study and cutting out the old reliance on brick-and-mortar trial sites. Easier interactions with patients should go a long way to improve the odds of completing a trial and getting it done more efficiently. “Castor was created with the mission to help researchers globally conduct more effective clinical trials while improving the patient experience,” said Castor founder and CEO Derk Arts in a statement. “Prioritizing the patient and site user experience is particularly important today, when COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the nature of clinical trials.” — John Carroll One of the newest life sciences SPACs out there is ready for its Nasdaq closeup. JATT Acquisition, the SPAC from a co-founder of Pathios Therapeutics and CEO of Akaza Bioscience and Izana Bioscience, priced Wednesday morning to the tune of a $120 million raise. The blank-check company will launch at $10 per share with the ticker $JATTU. The SPAC is run by Someit Sidhu, a relative unknown who before his biotech experience worked at the consulting firm McKinsey, where he cut his teeth advising unnamed global pharma companies. He also holds a degree from Oxford Medical School with an emphasis on cardiology and general surgery. Also on the team are Tauhid Ali, a former Takeda vet who launched three biotechs out of the pharma’s incubator, and Arnout Ploos van Amstel, former head of Novartis’ immunology, hepatology and dermatology franchises. — Max Gelman Alkeus Pharmaceuticals has won a new endorsement from the FDA. The Somerville, MA-based biotech announced Wednesday the agency has bestowed a Breakthrough Therapy Designation upon its experimental drug ALK-001 to treat Stargardt disease. Designed to be taken once a day, the candidate is a chemically-modified form of vitamin A developed for multiple retinal degenerative diseases, the company said. Alkeus’ BTD came after a Phase II randomized placebo study. The biotech estimates that between 40,000 and 60,000 patients currently live with the disease, and almost everyone diagnosed ultimately becomes legally blind. — Max Gelman