STORM Therapeutics Extends Series A to GBP 30M (USD 38.43M) with New Investor, Seroba Life Sciences

Dr Mark Albertella appointed VP Translational Oncology

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May 20, 2019, 03:00 ET

CAMBRIDGE, England, May 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- STORM Therapeutics ("STORM"), the drug discovery company tackling disease through modulating RNA modifying enzymes, today announced that it has raised an additional £14 million bringing the total Series A financing to £30 million.

The financing includes funding from new investor, Seroba Life Sciences ("Seroba"). STORM's existing investors, Cambridge Innovation Capital, M Ventures, Pfizer Ventures, Taiho Ventures and IP Group also participated in the fundraise.

This extension follows the company's rapid progress to date. It will enable STORM to advance its broad pipeline further in preclinical development and accelerate its programmes towards the clinic, supporting STORM's growth as the leading drug discovery company working on RNA modulating enzymes.

STORM has strengthened its team with the appointment of Dr Mark Albertella as VP Translational Oncology. Mark was previously Director of Biology at Medivir AB and has a successful track record in oncology drug discovery and development at Argenta, OSI Pharmaceuticals, Kudos and AstraZeneca, with over 20 years' experience in biotech and pharma industry in the UK, US and Europe.

Commenting on the fundraising, Dr Keith Blundy, CEO of STORM Therapeutics, said: "I am pleased to welcome Seroba to our investor syndicate and I would like to thank our existing investors for their continued support. This investment strengthens our Series A and provides further validation and support for STORM's strategy to continue building a world-leading company harnessing the power of RNA epigenetics - an emerging, innovative area of drug discovery. It comes at an exciting stage as STORM starts translating its unique platform into effective treatments in oncology and beyond. Mark's expertise in cancer drug discovery and development, encompassing in vitro and in vivo biology, translational and clinical research, will be invaluable to STORM as it progresses its pipeline towards the clinical stage."

Bruno Montanari, Partner at Seroba, added: "We have been closely following the RNA space for some time tracking a number of key players. We believe STORM is maintaining its first-mover advantage in RNA epigenetic modulation and is progressing rapidly in its development, making this an exciting time for us to partner with management and co-investors. We continue to be impressed by the quality and depth of STORM's science and the significant progress made by the team to advance its platform and pipeline in this fast-moving area of emerging biology."

STORM Therapeutics CEO Keith Blundy will be presenting at the BioEquity Europe 2019 meeting in Barcelona. STORM will present at 9am CEST on Tuesday 21^st May as part of the Next Wave sessions.

About STORM

STORM Therapeutics, founded in 2015, is a University of Cambridge spin-out translating the ground-breaking work of Professors Tony Kouzarides and Eric Miska in RNA epigenetics into the discovery of first-in-class drugs in oncology and other diseases. Storm is the leading company tackling disease through modulating RNA modifying enzymes and is developing a unique platform to address these enzyme classes, including RNA methyltransferases.

STORM is backed by blue chip investors Cambridge Innovation Capital, M Ventures, Pfizer Ventures, Taiho Ventures LLC and IP Group, who share the team's ambitions to build a world-leading company in the field.

Dr Albertella

Dr Albertella is an expert in oncology drug discovery and development with 20 years' experience in biotech and pharma industry in the UK, US and Europe. Prior to STORM, Mark was Director of Biology at Medivir AB where he was responsible for the review and progression of all R&D programmes. Most notably, he led the project team resulting in the discovery of MIV-818 nucleotide prodrug for the treatment of liver cancers from concept, to optimisation and CD selection to First-In-Man clinical study. His experience also encompasses the design and management of biomarker studies e.g. for the MIV-818 clinical study, and for an ongoing phase 1/2 clinical study combining birinapant and Keytruda. He has also initiated multiple successful international clinical collaborations with leading academic institutes in the US and Europe. Mark held senior positions at Argenta Discovery, OSI Pharmaceuticals, KuDOS Pharmaceuticals, and AstraZeneca prior to Medivir AB.

About Seroba Life Sciences

Seroba is a European life sciences venture capital firm, focused on investing in winning innovations in biotech and medtech. The team has deep investment and industry experience enabling us to help and support entrepreneurs realise their ambitions whilst creating value for investors. The firm has three funds under management and has built a portfolio of investee companies across multiple indications. Seroba partners with entrepreneurs to create and build businesses around extraordinary science. For more information, please visit https://www.seroba-lifesciences.com.

SOURCE STORM Therapeutics