LUNDBECKFONDEN EMERGE
LUNDBECKFONDEN ANNUAL REPORT 2021
23
LUNDBECKFONDEN EMERGE Emerge is the Foundation’s early-stage, evergreen investment unit, building and financing biotech companies based on Danish research. Emerge invests in pioneering research that promises to deliver significant patient benefit as well as having commercial potential.
2021 was a transformative year for Emerge, which saw two
IO102 and IO103 with an anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody
of concept studies and, in addition, explore expansion into
portfolio companies close large financing rounds with
(mAb) for patients with unresectable metastatic melanoma,
additional pathologies related to epithelial tissue injury.
international investors, followed by the first ever IPO of an
which was granted by the US Food and Drug Administration
Emerge portfolio company. The portfolio companies also
(FDA) towards the end of 2020.
Finally, SNIPR Biome secured up to USD 3.9m in funding
during the year, and several companies initiated clinical
Emerge also supported several portfolio companies in their
dedicated to accelerating antibacterial research - to develop its
studies or reported important results from ongoing clinical
follow-on financing, including IO Biotech and CytoKi
lead programme SNIPR001 for the treatment of E. coli
trials.
Pharma.
infection in cancer patients. SNIPR Biome is pioneering a
from Carb-X – a leading global non-profit partnership
made substantial progress in research and development
novel use of CRISPR/Cas technology to selectively eradicate Afyx Therapeutics announced positive Phase IIb efficacy and
IO Biotech completed an IPO on Nasdaq, raising USD 115m.
pathological bacteria based on specific DNA sequence
safety data for Rivelin® clobetasol for the treatment of lesions
The IPO followed the closing of an oversubscribed EUR 127m
signatures in the bacterial genome, while leaving the rest of
in oral lichen planus, a chronic inflammatory condition
series B financing round earlier in the year, and the company
the patient’s microbiome intact. Furthermore, the company
causing agonising mouth ulcers. If approved, Rivelin®
will use the combined proceeds to fund clinical trials for its
announced a research agreement with Novo Nordisk and a
clobetasol, would be the first approved treatment option for
early- and late-stage immuno-oncology programmes,
collaboration with The University of Texas MD Anderson
such patients.
including a large, randomised trial for IO102 and IO103 with
Cancer Center and the granting of a fundamental patent in the
an anti-PD-1 mAb in metastatic melanoma, and a Phase II
field of CRISPR-based targeting in microbiomes by the
basket trial in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and other
European Patent Office.
NMD Pharma, which develops innovative medical treatments for rare neuromuscular diseases, dosed its first myasthenia
solid tumours. The late-stage trials will be conducted in
gravis patient in a combined Phase I/IIa clinical trial of its lead
collaboration with MSD, under two new clinical trial
compound, NMD670, and announced that it has initiated an
collaboration and supply agreements that were also
The net return for the year was DKK -107m versus DKK 1m in
international observational study in collaboration with Aarhus
established in 2021.
2020. The 2021 return was affected by a loss of 142m related
University and The Ohio State University to assess neuromuscular function in patients with Charcot-MarieTooth (CMT) disease.
FINANCIAL RESULTS
to IO Biotech. Elsewhere in the portfolio, CytoKi Pharma raised USD 45m in series A financing. CytoKi Pharma is advancing a long-
The fair market value of the portfolio was DKK 624m at 31
acting interleukin-22 (IL-22) variant to clinical testing,
December 2021, compared to DKK 348m at the end of 2020.
IO Biotech published best-in-class efficacy data from a Phase
initially focusing on inflammatory bowel disease, and the
I/II study of IO102 and IO103 in first-line melanoma patients
proceeds from the series A round will be used to support the
At year-end, the Emerge portfolio comprised seven
in the high impact journal, Nature Medine. This followed the
development of the IL-22 programme through clinical proof
companies, of which, one was listed. The complete portfolio is
‘breakthrough therapy’ designation for the combination of
listed on the following page.
