Swiss drug manufacturer Novartis will invest up to an additional $15m in Gamida Cell, an Israeli developer of cellular and immune therapies to treat cancer and orphan genetic diseases.
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Gamida Cell develops cellular and immune therapies for the treatment of cancer and orphan genetic diseases.
$5 million will be invested immediately by Novartis, as part of the present deal to acquire a 2.5% stake.
This financing follows the initial August 2014 agreement under which Novartis invested $35 million in return for a 15% equity interest in Gamida Cell.
The additional investment by Novartis will be utilized to improve and advance Gamida Cell’s various clinical programs including NiCord’s development.
Other shareholders of Gamida include Elbit Imaging, Israel Healthcare Venture, Cal Biotechnology, Auriga Ventures and Denali Ventures, .
In mid 2016, Gamida has plans to initiate its Phase III clinical trials for NiCord.
However, in June Novartis said it had decided not to buy the company despite the fact that all predetermined milestones had been met. Instead, the company indicated that it would “explore suitable alternatives” to stay close to Gamida. So far, the toal investment is $50 million.
Novartis will also invest another $10 million to fund the later stage development of NiCord.
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Although Novartis will not have rights or options to Gamida Cell products under the terms of the agreement, it could end up owning a sizeable portion of the company based on the terms of the agreement.
