San Diego, California, Feb. 23, 2022 – Plexium, Inc. (Plexium), a leading next-generation targeted protein degradation (TPD) company, today announced the completion of an oversubscribed $102M financing, led by BVF Partners, L.P. and TCG X, with participation from new investors Softbank Vision Fund 2, RA Capital Management, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), and Pappas Capital. Existing investors The Column Group, DCVC Bio, Pivotal bioVenture Partners, Lux Capital, M Ventures, CRV and Neotribe Ventures also participated in the round. In connection with the financing, Cariad Chester, partner at TCG X, has joined the Plexium Board of Directors.
“We are proud of Plexium’s significant progress toward becoming the premier targeted protein degradation company. From attracting the highest quality investors in our latest financing announced today to establishing a validating partnership with Amgen for oncology, we continue to enhance our best-in-class platform and expand our pipeline to improve patients’ lives,” said Plexium President & CEO Percival Barretto-Ko. “Plexium is well positioned to accelerate our programs toward the clinic and broaden our capabilities with a comprehensive and agnostic approach across multiple TPD modalities to address the vast undrugged landscape of opportunity that remains.”
The proceeds from the financing will enable Plexium to accelerate its pipeline programs toward the clinic, including a molecular glue that selectively degrades the IKZF2 transcription factor, selective degraders of CDK2 and SMARCA2, and other undisclosed high value targets. In addition, the financing will support the advancement of Plexium’s TPD platform, powered by a proprietary high-throughput cell-based screening technology, to discover novel therapies across multiple therapeutic areas including oncology and other diseases.
Cariad Chester, partner at TCG X, added, “The foundational screening technology at Plexium is uniquely capable of interrogating molecular glues and degraders in a cellular context. With an incredible team and a compelling discovery and development platform, Plexium has quickly emerged as a leader in the field of targeted protein degradation and is well-positioned to realize the potential of this transformational modality to impact patients. We are proud to co-lead this financing and look forward to supporting Plexium through its next phase of growth.”
With the close of this financing, Plexium is well-capitalized with almost $200 million, including committed partnership research and development funding, to advance its pipeline and expand the capabilities of its TPD platform.
About Plexium
Plexium is the premier, next-generation targeted protein degradation company seeking to discover a wide range of monovalent target protein degraders that address the limitations of PROTACs and cereblon IMiDs. The company’s platform is a proprietary drug discovery platform designed to identify novel small molecules that induce selective degradation of drug target proteins through E3 ligase mediated proteasomal degradation. From molecular glues to monovalent degraders, Plexium is advancing a pipeline of novel targeted protein degraders for the treatment of cancer and other diseases. Due to its expertise in TPD, Plexium has entered into a strategic collaboration with Amgen to discover and develop new therapies for cancer and others serious diseases and is supported by high quality investors. For more information, visit https://plexium.com/ and engage with us on LinkedIn.
Plexium Investor and Media Contact:
Amy Conrad
Juniper Point
amy@juniper-point.com
858-366-3243