F2G combines €24 million loan and investment from Chinese Morningside to speed up its fungal infections treatment candidate olorofim

A UK- and Austria-based Biotech company F2G Ltd, has raised funding from life science investor Morningside Venture Investments Ltd. (Morningside), after borrowing €24 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB) in November 2018 to speed up the phase 2 study for its lead candidate, a treatment for invasive fungal infections, olorofim.

Ian Nicholson, CEO of F2G Ltd sess the investment from Morningside as a validation and support of the company’s strategy to develop a new, first-in-class anti-fungal drug.

“Morningside’s addition further strengthens our investor syndicate which includes Novo Holdings, Advent Life Sciences, Merifin Capital and Brace Pharma, who represent a renowned and committed shareholder base with a track record of supporting successful next-generation companies. The recent funding from the EIB along with this additional investment from Morningside will allow F2G to progress the development of our lead candidate olorofim for a patient population with very limited treatment options and a high medical need. Recruitment for our phase 2b programme is ongoing and has already seen the enrolment of patients in Europe, Australia, and the U.S.”

Jason Dinges, an investment advisor to Morningside said: “We believe F2G’s programmes have the potential to bring real impact in the treatment of life-threatening fungal diseases. We are very excited to support this proven management team as it seeks to further the development of olorofim in treating drug-resistant Aspergillus species and other rare moulds.”

F2G has discovered and is developing the orotomides, a novel class of antifungal agents. The orotomides act via a different mechanism than currently marketed antifungal agents and are active against Aspergillus and other rare and resistant moulds. Due to their mechanism of action, orotomides have fungicidal activity against fungal infections resistant to current therapies, a growing global problem where limited treatment options have led to a high medical need.

The Phase 2b study for olorofim is a global open-label study in patients who have limited treatment options for difficult-to-treat invasive fungal mould infections such as azole-resistant aspergillosis, scedosporiosis, lomentosporiosis, and other rare mould infections. There will be study sites across at least 6 countries. With 12 centres open in 5 countries (AU, BE, ES, NL, US), investigators in the study are recruiting patients well ahead of schedule. A further 20 centres will open in 2019. Olorofim is being developed both as IV and oral formulations.