HASSELT, Belgium, June 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Financing to advance Alphabodies™, a unique class of protein therapeutics active against intracellular disease targets

Complix, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of Alphabodies™, a unique class of protein therapeutics active against intracellular disease targets, announces the successful closing of a €12 million (US$15.5 million) Series B equity financing roundfrom a syndicate of leading life sciences investors. The fundraising was co-led by new investorsEdmond de Rothschild Investment Partners (France) and Gimv (Belgium) and Biotech Fund Flanders (managed by Gimv). Existing shareholders LRM, OMNES Capital, Vesalius Biocapital, Gemma Frisius Fund, TrustCapital, Vinnof, Baekeland Fund, CRP-Santé and management also participated in this round.

In conjunction with the fund raising Mr Gilles Nobécourt from Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners and Mr Patrick Van Beneden from Gimv will join the Complix Board of Directors, as will industry expert Professor Thierry Hercend, MD, PhD.

Complix is developing Alphabodies, a transformative bio-therapeutic platform with the capacity to address a vast number of disease targets that are currently considered "undruggable" by the two main classes of therapeutics: small chemical drugs and therapeutic antibodies. In particular, the ability of Alphabodies to modulate the intracellular protein-to-protein interactions (PPIs), which play a key role in the initiation and progression of many important diseases, represents a major medical and commercial opportunity for Complix and its partners.

The Series B fundraising will be used to develop therapeutic Alphabodies for treatment of cancer and autoimmune indications, and to further expand and validate the Company's unique Alphabody platform.

Dr Mark Vaeck, CEO of Complix, commented: "Receiving the financial backing from such a high quality syndicate of international life sciences investors is a clear endorsement of the potential of our Alphabody platform to transform the future drug development landscape.

"We have recently demonstrated that Alphabodies have the potential to address intractable intracellular disease targets, including PPIs that cause cancer. These data give us great confidence that our Alphabody platform can deliver the next generation drugs that the pharmaceutical industry is eagerly looking for to drive its growth and tackle a broad range of diseases where current treatment options are limited or non-existent. With the long-term support of this syndicate Complix is well-positioned to execute its ambitious business plan and make this bold vision a reality, creating tremendous value for all our stakeholders, including patients who could benefit from these new drugs."  

Mr Gilles Nobecourt from Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners said: "We were particularly attracted by Complix´ revolutionary Alphabody platform, which has the potential to transform drug development as we know it today. The unique ability of Alphabodies to address intractable intracellular disease targets offers an unprecedented opportunity to create a new class of proprietary and truly differentiated products. We were impressed by the team at Complix which has clearly demonstrated the potential of Alphabodies within a competitive timeframe and with modest resources. Based on this success we are confident that they can deliver their ambitious development targets"

Mr Patrick Van Beneden from Gimv added: "At Gimv we are very excited by the Complix opportunity because it clearly meets the key criteria we look for when making a new life sciences investment. The Company combines high-quality and experienced management with a unique technology platform that has the potential to deliver multiple breakthrough products. These are backed by a strong IP position and a focused business plan that we believe will deliver significant shareholder value within a realistic timeframe."

About Alphabodies™

Alphabodies are a revolutionary class of protein therapeutics that combine the attractive features of antibodies, including high target specificity and affinity, with the benefits from small chemical drugs, such as extreme stability and their capacity to penetrate cells. These unique features enable Alphabodies to address a wide range of disease targets, both intracellular and extracellular, that are considered undruggable by current drug formats, namely small chemicals or biologics. In particular, the ability of Alphabodies to act on intracellular protein targets represents a major medical and commercial opportunity.

Complix has been developing Cell-Penetrating Alphabodies (CPABs), which have the unique capacity to enter cells effectively and modulate intracellular protein-to-protein interactions (PPIs), which are known to play a key role in the initiation and progression of major diseases such as cancer, autoimmunity, CNS and metabolic diseases. Complix has generated compelling data showing that Alphabodies specific for an intracellular cancer target are able to exert significant biological effects on these cancer cells, in vitro as well as in vivo.

About Complix

Complix is a biopharmaceutical company developing a pipeline of transformative protein therapeutics, called Alphabodies™, mainly focused on oncology and autoimmune diseases.

Alphabodies are a revolutionary class of protein therapeutics that have the potential to address a wide range of disease targets, in particular intracellular targets that are considered undruggable by current drug formats, such as antibodies or small chemicals. Complix´ current R&D efforts are mainly focused on the development of Cell-Penetrating Alphabodies (CPABs) that have the unique capacity to enter tumor cells effectively and selectively modulate intracellular protein-to-protein interactions (PPIs) which play a key role in the initiation and progression of cancer.

Complix has established a strong intellectual property position protecting the Alphabody™ platform and its emerging product portfolio through the filing of multiple broad patent applications. Alphabody-based therapeutics are independent of antibody-based patent claims and offer a unique freedom-to-operate position.

Since its founding in 2008 Complix has raised a total of €26 million in funding (approximately US$ 34 million), including a €12 million B round in June 2013 and a €7 million Series A equity round in 2010.

Complix is headquartered in Hasselt (Belgium) in the Life Sciences incubator BioVille, and has research facilities in Ghent (Belgium) and Luxembourg. The Company has a fully owned subsidiary in Luxembourg and has established research alliances with CRP-Santé (Luxembourg) and VIB (Belgium).

For more information, please visit http://www.complix.com.

About Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners

Paris-based Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners is the private equity affiliate of the Edmond de Rothschild Group which is specialized in asset management and private banking (€130bn under management, 2,900 employees and 30 offices throughout the world). Founded in 1953, the Group has been chaired since 1997 by the founder's son, Baron Benjamin de Rothschild.

Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners is dedicated to making minority investments in privately-owned companies. It has currently close to €1 billion under management which is being invested primarily as life sciences venture capital and growth capital.

Its Life Sciences Team of eight professionals has over 60 years of experience in the Life Science industry and more than 100 years of private equity and venture capital experience.  The team has €355 million under management through its Biodiscovery franchise. BioDiscovery Funds, including BioDiscovery 4, are venture capital funds registered via the fast-track procedure. These funds are not authorized by the Autorité des marchés financiers and may adopt special investment rules.

BioDiscovery 4, a Capital Venture Funds registered via the fast-track procedure, invests mainly in private companies, which involves specific risks such as a risk of capital loss, a discretionary management risk and a liquidity risk.

For more information please visit: http://www.edrip.fr.

About Gimv

Gimv is a European investment company with over three decades' experience in private equity and venture capital. Gimv is listed on NYSE Euronext Brussels and currently manages around €1.8 billion (including third party funds) of investments in 75 portfolio companies, which in aggregate generate and annual turnover of over  €6 billion and employ over 26,000 professionals.

As a recognized market leader in selected investment platforms, Gimv identifies entrepreneurial and innovative companies with high-growth potential and supports them in their transformation into market leaders. Gimv's four investment platforms are: Consumer 2020, Health & Care, Smart Industries and Sustainable Cities. Each of these platforms works with a skilled and dedicated team across Gimv's home markets of the Benelux, France and Germany and can count on an extended international network of experts. 

For more information please visit: http://www.gimv.be.

About Biotech Fund Flanders

The Gimv managed Biotech Fonds Vlaanderen (BFV) is a venture capital fund for co-investment in the biotech sector in Flanders. It was set up in 1994 and is funded by the Flemish government. The fund provides seed and growth capital to new and existing biotech companies in Flanders, and as a result has played a key role in building Flanders into a reputable global player in scientific research and industrial development. BFV has already invested about €90 million in more than 19 biotech companies, a number of which are now listed.

Contacts
Complix NV
Dr. Mark Vaeck, CEO
+32-9-261-69-40

SOURCE Complix