Agendia Secures $35 Million Investment from Funds Managed by Athyrium Capital Management to Support Expanded Commercial Footprint in Rapidly Growing Markets and New Research Collaborations
IRVINE, California and AMSTERDAM, July 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Agendia, Inc., a world leader in precision oncology, today announced the completion of $35 million in financing from investment funds managed by Athyrium Capital Management LP, a leading global investor in innovative, high-growth companies across the healthcare sector.
Proceeds from the financing will accelerate commercial expansion in the U.S. and international markets, including increasing adoption of Agendia's recently-launched next-generation sequencing-based MammaPrint® BluePrint® Breast Cancer Recurrence and Molecular Subtyping Kit. Additionally, the company will invest in its Big Data programs which include full-genome profiling trials FLEX (U.S.) and PRECiSE (Netherlands), as well as looking to establish new collaborative research programs with leading academic institutions to further the development of Agendia's precision oncology pipeline.
Athyrium will be represented on the Agendia Board with the appointment of a Non-Executive Director, bringing proven expertise in shepherding growth for companies in the healthcare sector.
Jeff Ferrell, Partner at Athyrium Capital Management, commented:
"We believe the value of Agendia's versatile genomic technologies in delivering precision medicine for patients is clear. Backed by world-class clinical data, recommended by experts internationally and meeting a significant medical need, their tests enable a more effective use of finite healthcare budgets and resources. We are pleased to partner with Agendia and to have the opportunity to join the Board of Directors."
Mark R. Straley, Chief Executive Officer at Agendia, added:
"At Agendia, an unwavering commitment to women with breast cancer is at the center of everything that we do. Our MammaPrint and BluePrint tests support the expansion of personalized treatment management for patients and, since publication of the results of the landmark MINDACT trial in 2016, MammaPrint has been recommended in major international clinical practice guidelines and reimbursed by most healthcare insurers in the U.S. As a result, we have seen double-digit growth over this period as more women than ever before are able to access the benefits of our tests. We welcome Athyrium as a strategic investor and partner and look forward to working together to further accelerate this growth."
MammaPrint analyzes 70 genes most associated with breast cancer recurrence to provide a clear, binary Low or High Risk of cancer recurrence result, while BluePrint analyzes 80 genes, which classify a patient's breast cancer into functional molecular subtypes.
MammaPrint is currently the only test of its kind recommended by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)'s breast cancer clinical practice guidelines for women with lymph-node positive disease. A MammaPrint Low Risk result helps physicians identify patients unlikely to see any significant benefit from chemotherapy, aiding in effective, informed and personalized treatment management decisions, which reduce the risk of overtreatment and the associated side effects.
About MammaPrint®
MammaPrint is an in vitro diagnostic medical device, performed as a testing service in a central laboratory, using the gene expression profile of breast cancer tissue samples to assess a patient's risk for distant metastasis. The device is FDA-cleared and CE-marked, enabling use in the European Union. The MammaPrint® BluePrint® next-generation sequencing-based kit is a CE-marked device currently available for use in cancer centers in select regions of the world.
MammaPrint is indicated for use by physicians as a prognostic marker only, along with other clinical-pathological factors. It is not intended to determine the outcome of disease, nor to suggest or infer an individual patient's response to therapy.
About BluePrint®
BluePrint is an 80-gene complementary test provided with MammaPrint which allows functional molecular subtyping of a breast cancer sample into three distinct subtypes: Luminal-type, HER2-type and Basal-type, each with marked differences in long-term outcome and response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
About Agendia
Agendia is a privately held, leading precision oncology company that develops and markets genomic diagnostic products, which help support physicians with their complex treatment decisions. Agendia's breast cancer tests were developed using an unbiased gene selection by analyzing the complete human genome. Our offerings include the MammaPrint® 70-Gene Breast Cancer Risk-of-Recurrence Test, and the BluePrint® Molecular Subtyping Test, both on microarray technology, and the new MammaPrint BluePrint Recurrence and Molecular Subtyping test, on NGS technology.
In addition, Agendia has a pipeline of other genomic products in development. The company collaborates with pharmaceutical companies, leading cancer centers and academic groups to develop companion diagnostic tests in the area of oncology.
For more information on Agendia or the MammaPrint and BluePrint tests, you can visit Agendia's patient site at www.KnowYourBreastCancer.com or the corporate site at www.agendia.com.
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About Athyrium Capital Management
Athyrium is a specialized asset management company formed in 2008 to focus on investment opportunities in the global healthcare sector. Athyrium advises funds with over $3.7 billion in committed capital. The Athyrium team has substantial investment experience across a wide range of asset classes including public equity, private equity, fixed income, royalties, and other structured securities. Athyrium invests across all healthcare verticals including biopharma, medical devices and products, healthcare focused services, and healthcare information technology. The team partners with management teams to implement creative financing solutions to companies' capital needs. For more information, please visit www.athyrium.com.
Media Contact:
Weber Shandwick
Heather Platisha
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