OliX Announces Completion of $37.2 Million Capital Raise to Support U.S. Expansion and Advance Pipeline Globally
- Capital to fund construction of RNA synthesis GMP facility in San Diego
- Supports company’s goal of having 10 programs entered into clinical trials by 2024
SUWON, Republic of Korea, Dec. 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — OliX Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (KOSDAQ: 226950), a leading developer of RNAi therapeutics, announced today that it recently completed a capital raise of 41.5 billion won (approximately $37.2 million) to support the company’s U.S. expansion and advance its pipeline globally.
The capital will fund construction of an RNA synthesis Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) facility at the company’s San Diego site, which will initially produce investigational therapeutics in-house for clinical testing with the potential to manufacture commercial RNAi therapeutics in the future. The investment will also provide R&D and operating funds to advance the company’s core pipeline, including OLX101A for hypertrophic scars, OLX301A for age-related macular degeneration and OLX301D for subretinal fibrosis (both in collaboration with Laboratoires Théa outside Asia-Pacific) as well as advancing the company’s GalNAc-based liver therapeutic pipeline.
The paid-in capital increase totalled 41.5 billion won (approximately $37.2 million) with 30% in common stocks (approximately $11.2 million) and 70% in convertible bonds (approximately $26 million). Investors included Kiwoom Investment, NH Investment & Securities, Aju IB Investment and Widwin Investment, all based in South Korea.
“This capital investment strengthens our financial position and R&D programs, and we are excited to enter this next phase of growth as we strive to achieve our goal of having 10 programs entered into clinical trials by 2024,” said Dong Ki Lee, Ph.D., Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “We are grateful to the institutional investors who have shown confidence and a significant commitment to our company’s growth potential and future.”
Asymmetric small interfering RNA
Asymmetric small interfering RNA (asiRNA) is the next generation of RNAi therapeutics that offers efficient gene regulation. In comparison to existing siRNA therapeutics, OliX Pharmaceuticals’ asiRNA shows comparable gene silencing and significantly reduces siRNA-mediated side effects such as off-target gene silencing and immune stimulation.
About OliX Pharmaceuticals
OliX Pharmaceuticals is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company developing therapeutics against a variety of disorders by down-regulating expression of disease-causing genes, based on its own proprietary RNAi technology. The Company’s core RNAi platform, asymmetric siRNA (asiRNA), is a unique gene silencing technology based on RNA interference (RNAi), which is considered as the most efficient gene silencing technology. Based on asiRNA technology, OliX has developed cell penetrating asiRNA (cp-asiRNA), a therapeutic RNAi platform to effectively target locally administrable diseases, such as hypertrophic scar, dry and wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), subretinal fibrosis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and neuropathic pain. OliX has also developed another therapeutic RNAi platform, GalNAc-asiRNA, to target a variety of liver diseases.
To learn more about the company, visit: https://www.olixpharma.com/eng/
To learn more about RNAi technology, visit: https://www.olixpharma.com/eng/rnd/rnd01.php
Media Contact:
Jon Yu
Westwicke/ICR PR
Phone: +1.475.395.5375
jon.yu@westwicke.com
