COUR Pharmaceuticals Announces $30M Financing Led by Alpha Wave Ventures

CHICAGO, Sept. 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- COUR Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel immune-modifying nanoparticles (COUR NanoParticles or CNPs) designed to reprogram the immune system in treating autoimmune disorders, announced the closing of a $30 million financing led by Alpha Wave Ventures.

The proceeds from the financing will be used to expand COUR's CNP platform technology and advance the Company's two human proof-of-concept studies in Primary Biliary Cholangitis and Peanut allergy, as well as development programs in Myasthenia Gravis and Type 1 Diabetes. In addition to autoimmune and allergic disorders, COUR's platform technology has application in gene therapy to induce immune tolerance, with the potential to improve durability and enable repeat dosing.

"As COUR set out to pursue its first institutional financing round in the Company's history, we were very fortunate to find a likeminded investor in Alpha Wave, which appreciates our innovation-driven culture and mission-critical  approach to taking on big ideas in therapeutic areas where there are no or few therapies" said CEO and Founder, John J. Puisis, adding "The ability to secure a financing in these turbulent market conditions is a true testament to the tremendous capabilities of COUR's team, technology and results to date. With this important infusion of capital, we look forward to rapidly advancing our revolutionary drug candidates aimed to reprogram the immune system for people suffering from immune disorders."

As part of the financing, Chris Dimitropoulos, Managing Director, Biotechnology at Alpha Wave Global, will join COUR's Board of Directors.

"With multiple validating partnerships, an independent clinical development pipeline and the first known clinical study in humans demonstrating antigen-specific tolerance, we strongly believe COUR is well positioned to be the leader in bringing to market multiple first-in-class antigen-specific therapies to drive a paradigm shift in the treatment of autoimmune disorders away from immune suppressive approaches and towards true immune reprogramming." said Chris Dimitropoulos. "We look forward to working collaboratively with the COUR team to advance this important technology."

SVB Securities acted as the placement agent to the Company in connection with the financing. Cooley LLP served as legal advisor to COUR Pharmaceuticals and Kirkland and Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to Alpha Wave Ventures. 

COUR Pharmaceuticals is developing first-in-class therapies designed to reprogram the immune system to achieve antigen-specific tolerance for immune-mediated disease. COUR's platform of immune-modifying nanoparticles focus on treating the root cause of immune disease, unlike traditional approaches, which only minimize symptoms using toxic immune suppression. COUR's lead product for celiac disease, partnered with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, is the first demonstration of induction of antigen-specific immune tolerance in any autoimmune disease. Data from clinical and preclinical settings demonstrate the potential opportunity for the COUR nanoparticle platform to address a wide range of immune and inflammatory conditions. The underlying technology was acquired from Northwestern University and draws from more than 30 years of research in immune tolerance. For more information, please visit www.courpharma.com.

 Alpha Wave is a global investment company with offices in New York, Miami, London, Abu Dhabi, Tel Aviv, Bangalore, Jakarta, and Sydney. Its flagship global venture and growth fund, Alpha Wave Ventures, aims to invest in best-in-class venture and growth-stage companies and endeavors to be helpful long-term partners to the founders and management teams. Alpha Wave manages a variety of investment partnerships that cover several asset classes, themes, and geographies. For more information, please visit www.alphawaveglobal.com.

Investor Relations & Media Contact:

Brian C. Bock
Chief Financial Officer
bbock@courpharma.com

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SOURCE COUR Pharmaceuticals