Gamida Cell said today that it raised $40 million to support the ongoing Phase III trial of its NiCord cell graft and expand its in-house manufacturing capacity.
The private financing was led by new investor Shavit Capital. VMS Investment Group and Israel Biotech Fund joined existing investor Novartis in the round, as well as Clal Biotechnology Industries and Israel HealthCare ventures.
The Jerusalem-based company’s cell graft was designed as an alternative to bone marrow transplantation for patients with blood cancer who do not have a fully matched donor.
“We are very pleased to have the strong support from both new and current investors as we continue to advance our lead product NiCord through late stage development and toward commercialization,” president & CEO Yael Margolin said in prepared remarks. “With this financing, we are well-positioned to complete the Phase III clinical trial of NiCord with the goal of bringing this lead product candidate to market and filling an important unmet need in bone marrow transplantation for blood cancer patients who cannot rapidly find a fully matched donor.”
Gamida Cell said it also plans to use the round’s proceeds to develop additional pipeline products including CordIn for rare genetic diseases and NK cells as a cancer therapy.
“The financing announced today provides important support for Gamida Cell’s innovative product pipeline, which has the potential to change the clinical application of cell based therapies. We are excited to take Gamida Cell to the next step towards becoming a commercial global company based on innovative oncology therapy,” chairman Julian Adams said.
“Gamida Cell has a highly impressive management team, shareholder base and board of directors. These, combined with the strong clinical data of the Company’s pipeline products, attracted the attention of 1st tier international financial investors and pharmaceutical companies,” Gary Leibler, founder & managing partner of Shavit Capital, added. “Gamida Cell is now on course to complete its primary goal of developing its flagship product, NiCord, to address a multi-billion dollar market and help the many patients in need of better therapies.”
“We are pleased to join this distinguished group of investors and support this promising company,” Andre Ng, head of healthcare at VMS Investment Goup, said. “As a Hong Kong-based investment group with a strong healthcare presence and network in Asia, we are committed to supporting Gamida Cell with its Asia development and ultimately enabling more patients with high-risk blood cancers to benefit from this life-saving technology.”
