Microbiome Report for Week Ending 2/23/19

BiomX Raises $32 Million in Series B Financing
BiomX Ltd., a microbiome company developing customized phage therapies, announced on 2/20/19 the closing of a $32 million series B equity financing. The financing was led by existing investors OrbiMed, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc., Takeda Ventures, Inc., 8VC, MiraeAsset, Seventure Partners’ Health for Life Capital I, SBI Japan-Israel Innovation Fund and additional European investors and included new investors led by RM Global Partners (RMGP) BioPharma Investment Fund, with participation from Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical Corp., Handok, Inc., KB Investment Co., Ltd. and Consensus Business Group. Proceeds from the financing will be used primarily to advance the Company’s leading drug candidates for the treatment of acne and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) to the clinic.

In conjunction with the investment, Yaron Breski, Managing Director at RM Global Partners, and Eric de la Fortelle, Ph.D., MBA, Venture Partner at Seventure Partners, join BiomX’s Board of Directors.

Microbiome Company Kaleido Announces $120 Million IPO
On 2/19/18 Kaleido Biosciences filed for a $120 Million IPO. The company will offer 4,761,905 shares of  common stock. The expected price is between $20 and $22 per share. The shares will be listed on NASDAQ under the symbol, “KLDO.”

The company expects to use the proceeds from the offering to advance its current pipeline. It will use approximately $60 million to advance programs in hyperammonemia in Phase 2 clinical trials including related CMC and clinical trial material requirements. It will additionally use the proceeds and cash on hand to fund its pipeline outside of  hyperammonemia fund discovery efforts. The company currently has five candidates in development.

In June of 2018, Kaleido raised $101 million in Series C financing. Investors in that round included a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Fidelity Management and Research Company, Invus, and Rock Springs Capital.


Study Finds Microbiota May Control Host Via mRNA Activity and Gene Expression

The study found that microbiome derived nitric oxide promotes widespread S-nitrosylation of the host proteome Interspecies S-nitrosylation regulates miRNAs, gene expression and host development.


SkinBioTherapeutics Raises $1.9 million in Equity Financing
SkinBioTherapeutics plc (AIM: SBTX) (“SkinBioTherapeutics” or the “Company”), a life sciences company focused on skin health, announced on 2/18/19 that it has raised a total of $1,990,000 via a placing of 9,375,000 new ordinary shares (“Placing Shares”) at a price of 16 pence per share (the “Placing”).
 
The Placing Shares have been issued to funds managed by Seneca Partners Limited ("Seneca"), an investment manager and existing substantial shareholder in SkinBioTherapeutics.
 
The proceeds of the Placing will be used by the Company to explore new opportunities for its existing SkinBiotix technology, support new areas of development and in doing so, explore the commercial opportunity in the broader microbiome arena.
 
Application will be made for the Placing Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM ("Admission") and it is expected that Admission will become effective on or around 21 February 2019. The Placing Shares will rank pari passu with the existing ordinary shares of 1 pence each.

Dr Cath O’Neill, CEO of SkinBioTherapeutics, commented:
 
"Seneca has been a substantial shareholder in SkinBioTherapeutics since the IPO, therefore we see this additional investment as a strong signal of continuing support of our business and strategy. The funding provides additional working capital and headroom to consider some of the other potential applications for the SkinBiotix technology as well as other skin conditions, such as psoriasis.”