LONDON, UK: Sanofi, a global biopharmaceutical company, has committed to invest up to $60 million in equity of Gyroscope Therapeutics Holdings.
Gyroscope plans to use proceeds from this investment to support funding of ongoing clinical trials of GT005 in GA. GT005 has been granted Fast Track designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is being evaluated in Phase II clinical trials.
Sanofi will invest $40.0 million in Gyroscope initially and the remaining $20.0 million will be invested contingent on a future qualifying investment round and subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions.
Under the terms of the agreement, a Sanofi R&D executive will join the Gyroscope Clinical Advisory Board to advise on matters related to the development of GT005, Gyroscope’s lead investigational gene therapy being developed for geographic atrophy (GA) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Additionally, Gyroscope has granted Sanofi an exclusive right of first refusal on certain potential future transactions for GT005 in select geographies.
Following the financing, Syncona’s ownership position in Gyroscope Therapeutics will be 49 per cent. Syncona’s holding value will be £153.5 million.
Chris Hollowood, Chief Investment Officer of Syncona Investment Management Limited and Chairman of Gyroscope, said: “We are delighted that Sanofi is investing alongside us in Gyroscope. Gyroscope has made significant progress since its foundation in 2016, stewarded by a world-class management team.
It has reported encouraging data from its Phase I/II study with its investigational gene therapy, GT005, which is now being evaluated in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of geographic atrophy. We are excited about the potential of the therapies Gyroscope is seeking to develop for patients in an area where there are no treatment options.
Today’s investment by one of the globally leading biopharmaceutical firms, Sanofi, further validates the potential of these therapies and the opportunity that lies ahead, providing the business with additional financing to continue to execute its clinical development.”
Khurem Farooq, Chief Executive Officer, Gyroscope, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Sanofi onboard as an investor in Gyroscope. Their investment is a testament to the promise of our science and gene therapy programmes to make a difference for people with serious eye diseases. We believe our lead investigational gene therapy, GT005, has the potential to be the first gene therapy for geographic atrophy, a devastating cause of vision loss for more than 5 million people globally, and were pleased to recently announce additional encouraging data from our ongoing Phase I/II FOCUS clinical trial.”
