ELOXX PHARMACUETICALS RECEIVES A US$5 MILLION INVESTMENT FROM QUARK VENTURE AND GF SECURITIES TO ADVANCE A NOVEL DISEASE-MODIFYING THERAPY TARGETING GENETIC DISEASES
Vancouver, British Columbia. – June 8, 2017 – Today, Quark Venture Inc. and GF Securities announced a $US5 million investment Eloxx Pharmaceuticals through their Global Health Science Fund. This investment is part of a US$24 million financing Series C round led by Pontifax, a leading VC in the Life Sciences arena and co-founder of Eloxx Pharmaceuticals. Headquartered in Rehovot, Israel, Eloxx Pharmaceuticals is a clinical stage company developing first in class therapeutics to treat genetic diseases caused by non-sense mutations.
“This investment expands our global portfolio. We are pleased to join Pontifax and other investors in this round of financing. Eloxx’s lead compound, ELX-02, provides a unique opportunity to potentially be the first disease-modifying therapy to treat a set of devastating diseases, for which there are no effective treatments. We have full confidence in the company’s clinical strategy and in the management team, led by CEO and co-founder Dr. Silvia Noiman,” said Karimah Es Sabar, Chief Executive Office of Quark Venture and Director of GHS Fund.”
Eloxx’s lead compound, ELX-02 has shown pharmacological, pharmacodynamic and physiological effects in several animal models of genetic disease cause by nonsense mutations including Cystic Fibrosis, Cystinosis, Duchene Muscular Dystrophy and Rett Syndrome.
“We welcome Quark Venture as an investor in this round of financing. Their team bring a deep level of Life Sciences expertise. This financing enables us to initiate multiple clinical studies for EL-02. We are optimistic about advancing our lead clinical programs in cystic fibrosis and cystinosis patients carrying nonsense mutations,” said Dr. Silvia Noiman, Chief Executive Officer of Eloxx Pharmaceuticals.
Approximately 3 – 4 percent of newborns manifest a genetic disease or major birth defect, and about 12 percent of all mutations reported are caused by nonsense mutation. Nonsense mutations introduce premature stop codons in the reading frame of a gene. When the mutated sequence is translated into a problem, the resulting protein is incomplete and shorter than normal. Consequently, most nonsense mutations result in nonfunctional proteins. Nonsense mutations account for some of the most severe phenotypes in genetic diseases and often have devastating effects in critical target organs. ELX-02 is a translation read-through inducing drug. Read-through therapy is a treatment strategy for genetic diseases caused by nonsense mutations to increase translation and restoring activity of the mutated proteins.
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About Quark Venture
Quark Venture is focused on equity financing of innovative biotechnology and health sciences companies with breakthrough technology platforms and projects. The organization’s approach is to establish long-term relationships with target companies, with a view to enable and strengthen management to realize the full potential and value of the technology. This approach has been previously successfully demonstrated in the energy and high-tech sectors where Quark Venture partners have invested. Quark Venture’s management is supported by a scientific and commercial advisory board. For more information on Quark Venture visit www.quarkventure.com
About GF Securities
Incorporated in September of 1991, GF Securities is a provider of comprehensive capital market services with industry-leading innovation capabilities focused on serving China’s quality SMEs and affluent individuals. GF Securities is listed both on the Hong Kong (01776.HK) and Shenzhen (000776.SZ) stock exchanges with total market capitalization of approximately US$20 billion. GF Securities is an industry leader across the entire spectrum of its core business services: investment banking, wealth management, trading and institutional client services, and investment management. For more information, visit www.gf.com.cn
About Global Health Science Fund
Global Health Science Fund was jointly established by Quark Venture Inc. and GF Securities in late 2016. Global Health Science Fund is a health sciences venture fund that invests globally in a diversified portfolio of innovative biotechnology and health sciences companies who are addressing unmet medical needs through innovations in drug development, medical devices, health IT and emerging convergent technologies.
About Eloxx Pharmaceuticals
Eloxx Pharmaceuticals is a clinical stage company developing first in class therapeutics for the treatment of genetic disease caused by non-sense mutations. Eloxx was co-founded by Dr. Silvia Noiman and Pontifax, a leading VC in the Life Sciences arena. Eloxx technology is originated from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel, and results from research lead by Prof. Timor Baasov.
For more information visit www.eloxxpharma.com
For more information, contact:
Kaley Wilson – Quark Venture
Director, Business Development
T :604-262-8818
E: info@quarkventure.com
