Orchard Therapeutics Announces $150-Million Financing to Advance Pipeline

Orchard Therapeutics recently announced the completion of an oversubscribed $150 million Series C financing. Deerfield Management led the financing with significant new investments from RA Capital Management, Venrock, Foresite Capital, Perceptive Advisors, Cormorant Asset Management LP, ArrowMark Partners, Sphera Global Healthcare, Medison Ventures, Driehaus Capital Management and Ghost Tree Capital Group, LP, as well as additional US-based healthcare-focused funds. Existing investors also participated including Temasek, Baillie Gifford, RTW Investments, LP, Cowen Healthcare Investments and Agent Capital.

Proceeds from the Series C financing will be used to progress Orchard’s three most advanced clinical programs: OTL-101 for adenosine deaminase severe combined immunodeficiency (ADA-SCID), OTL-200 for metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) and OTL-103 for Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome (WAS) toward registration and commercialization. The funding will also support the clinical and preclinical development of the company’s rare disease gene therapy pipeline.

“We are thrilled to have such strong support from both new and existing investors in this financing round,” said Mark Rothera, President and CEO of Orchard. “The quality of this investor syndicate is a testament to the confidence we have built among our stakeholders, based on the substantial progress of Orchard’s clinical and preclinical programs since our Series B round last year.”

Frank Thomas, CFO and Chief Business Officer of Orchard, said “This financing provides Orchard with additional capital to rapidly progress our most advanced clinical programs to commercialization. We are advancing our pipeline of potentially transformative gene therapies in primary immune deficiencies and neurometabolic disorders to reach patients as quickly as possible.”

Elise Wang, Principal at Deerfield Management, added “Orchard has made an impressive transition from a start-up company to an emerging leader in gene therapy for rare diseases by building a comprehensive, industry-leading portfolio of ex vivo gene therapies and assembling a highly experienced team. We are pleased to have led this round of financing. We believe the company has generated compelling clinical data on products which have the potential to become breakthrough treatments for patients.”

Orchard Therapeutics is a fully integrated commercial-stage biotechnology company dedicated to transforming the lives of patients with serious and life-threatening rare diseases through innovative gene therapies.

Orchard’s portfolio of autologous ex vivo gene therapies includes Strimvelis, the first autologous ex vivo gene therapy approved by the EMA for adenosine deaminase severe combined immunodeficiency (ADA-SCID). Additional programs for primary immune deficiencies, neurometabolic disorders and hemoglobinopathies include three advanced registrational studies for ADA-SCID, metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) and Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS), clinical programs for X-linked chronic granulomatous disease (X-CGD) and transfusion dependent beta-thalassemia (TDBT), as well as an extensive preclinical pipeline. Orchard currently has offices in the U.K. and the U.S., including London, San Francisco and Boston. For more information, visit www.orchard-tx.com.