Novo Holdings participates in €75M Series B financing round for NMD Pharma

NMD Pharma A/S, a clinical-stage biotech dedicated to developing novel and improved treatments for patients living with neuromuscular diseases, today announces that it has raised €75 million ($80 million) in a Series B financing. The financing was led by current investor Jeito Capital and includes investments from other current investors: Novo Holdings, Lundbeckfonden BioCapital, INKEF Capital, and the Roche Venture Fund. Novo Holdings is a founding investor and has invested in the Company since 2016.

NMD Pharma is developing first-in-class small molecule inhibitors of the skeletal muscle specific chloride ion channel (ClC-1) to enhance neuromuscular transmission with the potential to restore muscle function in a range of rare neuromuscular diseases.

Proceeds from the financing will be used to complete three Phase 2 studies with NMD670, the Company’s lead ClC-1 inhibitor. The three studies will evaluate the novel mechanism of ClC-1 inhibition in AChR and MuSK antibody positive myasthenia gravis, spinal muscular atrophy, and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, respectively.

Furthermore, NMD Pharma will continue to expand its pipeline of ClC-1 inhibitor molecules and pursue undisclosed targets for the treatment of other neuromuscular diseases. The new funds will also be used to expand NMD Pharma’s clinical and commercial operations in Denmark and in the US.

Morten Graugaard Døssing, Partner, Seed Investments, Novo Holdings, said: “As a founding investor, we are pleased to announce that NMD Pharma has successfully raised a substantial Series B financing, a significant milestone in accelerating the development of innovative therapies for patients with neuromuscular diseases. We are particularly excited about the immense potential of NMD Pharma’s portfolio of first-in-class CLC-1 inhibitors, which are poised to enhance muscle function in severe conditions including myasthenia gravis, spinal muscular atrophy, and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. We will collaborate closely with the NMD Pharma team and our fellow investors to advance these much-needed treatments to patients who stand to benefit from them.”

“This funding will help NMD Pharma evolve significantly and enable us to become a late-stage clinical company with a pipeline of novel therapeutics in development for patients with neuromuscular diseases,” said Thomas Holm Pedersen, Chief Executive Officer of NMD Pharma. “I would like to extend my thanks to my team for their work making NMD Pharma the company it is today and for the support and trust shown by our investors, and in particular to Jeito Capital, for leading this round.”

“NMD Pharma has progressed its pipeline of first-in-class CIC-1 inhibitors from the laboratory to the clinic in several severe neuromuscular diseases. This financing round will be pivotal for the Company as we aim to deliver the next phase of growth to become a late-stage clinical company, supported by this new capital and expert investors who know us well and are experienced in building shareholder value,” remarked Mike Heffernan, Chairman of the Board at NMD Pharma.

Sabine Dandiguian, Managing Partner at lead investor Jeito Capital, added: “Since we originally looked at NMD Pharma we have been impressed with the Company’s unique expertise in a very specialised area. The Company has matured and grown significantly since our initial investment last year and the recent positive clinical data has provided valuable validation. As such, we are very pleased to lead this new round and look forward to supporting Thomas Holm Pedersen, the CEO and his talented team as they progress the NMD Pharma story to the next chapter with a joint ambition: provide patients with life transforming benefits.”

Read the interview with Thomas Holm Pedersen and Morten Graugaard Døssing to learn more about NMD Pharma, its recent financing and plans for the future.

About NMD Pharma

NMD Pharma A/S is a clinical-stage biotech company developing a first-in-class platform of small molecule therapies selectively targeting the skeletal muscle chloride ion channel (ClC-1) for the treatment of severe neuromuscular disorders. The Company was incorporated as a spin-off from Aarhus University, Denmark in 2015 and was founded on more than 15 years of muscle physiology research with a focus on regulation of skeletal muscle excitability under physical activity. NMD Pharma has built a world-leading muscle electrophysiology platform leveraging the in-depth know-how of muscle physiology and muscular disorders, small molecule modulators, enabling technologies and tools as well as in vivo pharmacology models for discovering and developing proprietary modulators of neuromuscular function. NMD Pharma received initial seed financing in 2016 and has since raised ~€155 million from investors including Novo Holdings, Lundbeckfonden BioCapital, INKEF Capital, Roche Venture Fund, and Jeito Capital. Find out more about us online at http://www.nmdpharma.com/.