RQ Biotechnology Ltd.

LONDON, Jan. 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- LifeArc Ventures, which invests in innovative early-stage life science companies as part of LifeArc, today announced substantial progress in 2024, with three new investments, several follow-on investments, and scientific advances by a number of its portfolio companies. Clare Terlouw, Head of LifeArc Ventures, said: "This has been a busy and productive year as LifeArc Ventures continued to generate deal flow, creatively deploy capital and execute a bold growth strategy. Our portfolio now includes 17 companies focused on scientific innovation, each with the potential to significantly improve outcomes for patients. We added three new companies to the portfolio demonstrating our capacity to identify, fund and support highly promising innovation and to work in partnership with other life sciences venture investors. "We continue to see strong opportunities to invest in life sciences companies in the UK and globally, and we look forward to helping our companies grow, and continuing to invest in new companies in 2025." Expanding the portfolio in therapeutics and medtech LifeArc Ventures' portfolio continued to grow in 2024, including investing in Fluid Biomed Inc's oversubscribed Series A and two stealth therapeutics investments. Fluid Biomed Inc. is a clinical-stage medical device company based in Canada advancing the first hybrid polymer-metal stent to treat brain aneurysms. LifeArc Ventures invested in Fluid Biomed's US$27 million Series A equity financing which closed in December alongside Amplitude Ventures, IAG Capital Partners, ShangBay Capital, METIS Innovative and an undisclosed industry leader. LifeArc Ventures also invested in the financing of two stealth companies – a UK-US company leveraging AI for target discovery and drug development, with an initial emphasis on immunology and fibrosis; and a US-based company developing therapeutics for autoimmune disorders. Cytospire Therapeutics emerged from stealth in 2024. LifeArc Ventures invested in the UK-based company, working alongside Abingworth & 4BIO Capital, in 2023. Cytospire is developing an innovative portfolio of differentiated multispecific engager antibodies to safely target and stimulate the activity of the innate and adaptive immune system. Targeted follow-on investments LifeArc Ventures participated in multiple follow-on investment rounds including Ikarovec's successful seed funding round and Affect Therapeutics. Ikarovec is advancing the novel gene therapy programme IKC159V towards clinical trials in geographic atrophy (GA), a cause of sight loss in millions of people which is often a precursor to wet age-related macular degeneration. Affect Therapeutics has developed a digital-first substance use disorder treatment platform. Their scientifically proven programmes support the full recovery journey through care counselling and biological testing with contingency management, providing financial incentives for harm reduction behaviours. Portfolio progress led by AviadoBio & RQ Bio AviadoBio announced an exclusive option and license agreement with Astellas for its gene therapy AVB-101 targeting frontotemporal dementia and other indications. AviadoBio is eligible to receive up to $2.18 billion in license fees and milestone payments, plus royalties, if Astellas exercises its option. A Phase 1/2 clinical trial of AVB-101 is underway in the U.S. and Europe. Kavigale (sipavibart; AZD3152), a monoclonal antibody discovered by RQ Biotechnology and licensed to AstraZeneca in 2022, received a positive CHMP opinion for prevention of COVID 19 in immunocompromised individuals. The advance from discovery to a positive CHMP opinion in three years illustrates the speed with which long-acting monoclonal antibodies can be developed as a drug class to protect vulnerable populations against serious viral diseases. The decision further validates RQ Bio's antiviral drug discovery expertise and model for early partnership with the pharmaceutical industry. Closed Loop Medicine announced a strategic partnership with Teva UK to investigate opportunities to leverage Closed Loop's proprietary software as a medical device (SaMD) technology platform in the creation of personalised medicines. The goal is to improve drug efficacy and outcomes for patients with specific chronic disorders by combining dose-optimised drug therapy with digital care. Maxion Therapeutics appointed Dr Arndt Schottelius (previously at Affimed, Kymab, MorphoSys and Genentech) as its CEO with the company aiming to develop antibody-based drugs for previously untreatable ion channel- and GPCR-driven diseases. In the US, Ozlo Sleep, a science-driven sleep and audio technology company, launched Ozlo Sleepbuds®, revolutionary earbuds designed specifically for sleep. Ozlo Sleepbuds have been named a 2025 CES Innovation Awards Honoree. Earlier this month, Pheno Therapeutics announced receipt of clinical trial authorisation in the UK for its lead multiple sclerosis (MS) therapeutic candidate PTD802, the first ever clinical trial involving a GPR17 (G protein-coupled receptor 17) antagonist. PTD802 is a novel small molecule therapeutic designed to promote remyelination. Developed under an exclusive worldwide licence agreement with UCB, the programme is targeted toward treatment of neurological diseases with high unmet medical need, with an initial focus on MS. Last week, our portfolio company Surgery Hero, a UK-based innovator in prehabilitation digital health, announced its acquisition by Sword Health, a global leader in AI-powered care based in the US. The acquisition marks a new chapter for Surgery Hero, with its expertise in surgery prehabilitation combining with Sword's innovative AI Care platform to bring better health outcomes to patients in the UK and internationally. Contacts: LifeArc Clare Terlouw [email protected] Mo PR Advisory Mo Noonan / Jonathan Birt Tel: +44 (0) 7876 444977 / 07860 361746 Notes to Editors: About LifeArc LifeArc is a self-funded medical research charity with more than 25 years of translating early science into health care treatment including a diagnostic for antibiotic resistance and five licensed medicines. Our model is built on collaboration, and through our LifeArc Ventures team, we invest in Seed and Series A stage companies with significant follow-on investment reserved for successful portfolio companies. Our ventures approach focuses on investing in novel translational science and technology with a dual goal of generating financial returns to the charity and positive impact for patients. Find out more on / or follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter (@LifeArcVentures). SOURCE LifeArc WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM? 440k+ Newsrooms & Influencers 9k+ Digital Media Outlets 270k+ Journalists Opted In GET STARTED

RQ Bio welcomes positive CHMP opinion on Kavigale for prevention of COVID-19 in immunocompromised individuals Kavigale (sipavibart; AZD3152) is a monoclonal antibody discovered by RQ Bio and licensed to AstraZeneca in 2022.Advancing from discovery to positive CHMP opinion in three years illustrates the speed with which long-acting monoclonal antibodies can be developed as a drug class to protect vulnerable populations against serious viral diseases.Further validates RQ Bio’s antiviral drug discovery expertise and model for early partnership with the pharmaceutical industry. London, England, 09 January 2025 – RQ Biotechnology Ltd. (“RQ Bio”), a leader in the discovery of preventative medicines for infectious diseases, today welcomes the decision by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to recommend the granting of marketing authorisation for the medicinal product Kavigale. Kavigale is intended for the prevention of COVID-19 in immunocompromised individuals- aged 12 years and older and was reviewed under the EMA’s accelerated assessment programme. “This welcome news is further validation of our expertise in antiviral drug discovery and our model for early partnership with the pharmaceutical industry to rapidly advance potentially important new medicines,” RQ Bio CEO Mike Westby said. “The programme has transitioned from discovery to positive regulatory opinion in three years. This is truly remarkable and highlights the pace with which long-acting prophylactic antibodies can now advance through pre-clinical and clinical development.” The active substance of Kavigale is sipavibart, an antiviral human IgG1 monoclonal antibody discovered by RQ Bio in partnership with The University of Oxford. Sipavibart provides passive protection against SARS-CoV 2 by binding its spike protein receptor binding domain. AstraZeneca exclusively licenced sipavibart (formerly AZD3152) from RQ Bio in May 2022. Hayden Selvadurai, Head of Portfolio Management at RQ Bio, commented, “This positive opinion from the CHMP highlights the productive relationship we have with a trusted pharma partner. We’re excited about the opportunity to build on this experience and are advancing assets from our other programmes, including seasonal influenza, to provide protection for vulnerable individuals that are unable to build an optimal immune response from vaccination.” ENDS Enquiriesmedia@rqbiotechnology.comwww.rqbiotechnology.comLinkedIn ABOUT KAVIGALEKavigale is indicated for the preexposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 in adults and adolescents 12 years of age and older, weighing at least 40 kg and who are immunocompromised due to a medical condition or receipt of immunosuppressive treatments. ABOUT RQ BIORQ Bio’s mission is to develop preventative medicines to provide instant immunity and protect vulnerable people from life threatening viral diseases. RQ Bio has achieved this by combining expertise in virology and drug development with deep academic collaborations, including the University of Oxford, to create an innovative discovery platform delivering multiple sources of leads. RQ Bio was founded by scientific experts previously involved with the UK’s COVID Antibody Taskforce, which worked to build a community of infectious disease experts focussed on the rapid delivery of highly potent neutralising antibodies to support the UK COVID-19 response. In April 2024, RQ Bio Covid Ltd was formed to manage RQ Bio’s licensed COVID assets, including sipavibart. Attachment RQ Bio CHMP Positive Opinion Final

In a Phase III trial, the asset was demonstrated to be effective in preventing symptomatic Covid-19 in immunocompromised individuals. Credit: Andrii Vodolazhskyi / Shutterstock. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has accepted AstraZeneca ‘s marketing authorisation application for sipavibart as Covid-19 pre-exposure prophylaxis (preventive treatment) in immunocompromised patients, under an accelerated assessment approach. A long-acting antibody, sipavibart has been designed to neutralise the spike protein interaction with the ACE2 receptor, providing protection from Omicron and other ancestral viral variants. Licensed from RQ Biotechnology in May 2022, the antibody has been developed to safeguard immunocompromised individuals from Covid-19. These patients are at a heightened risk of severe outcomes from the disease. The EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) granted sipavibart an accelerated assessment due to its potential for public health and as a therapeutic innovation. The submission for sipavibart is based on the positive outcomes from the Phase III SUPERNOVA clinical trial. See Also: HF-158K1 by HighField Biopharmaceuticals for Bladder Cancer: Likelihood of Approval Innovent sells its share in CAR T-cell therapy to IASO Bio for 18% equity This international, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial analysed the efficacy and safety of sipavibart versus control (tixagevimab/cilgavimab or placebo). The variants of Covid-19 observed during the trial included several different SARS-CoV-2 strains. Sipavibart prevented symptomatic Covid-19 in immunocompromised individuals versus the control group. AstraZeneca is also engaging with other regulatory bodies to discuss potential authorisation or approval pathways for sipavibart. AstraZeneca vaccines and immune therapies executive vice-president Iskra Reic stated: “Immunocompromised patients currently have no options for Covid-19 protection in Europe beyond vaccination, which often is not sufficient to protect them against serious Covid-19 outcomes. “We are pleased that the EMA has accepted this regulatory submission with an accelerated assessment procedure and will work to bring sipavibart to these highly vulnerable patients.”