Arix Bioscience acquires 11% stake in Phamaxis Ltd.

London-based Arix Bioscience announced it has acquired an 11 % interest in Pharmaxis in a two tranche placement contributing £8m, while £5.4 came from existing investors such as BVF Partners L.P. The Pharmaxis Board approved the nomination of Arix’s Edward Rayner to join the Board in September 2018. 

Arix said it will use the proceeds to advance its proprietary Phase I lead programme, an orally administered anti-fibrotic Lysyl Oxidase-Like type 2 (LOXL2) inhibitor designed to block pathogenic fibrosis, which might create treatment options for diseases such as Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH), Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF), or heart and kidney fibrosis.  The company expects to finalise Phase I testing by Q3/2018. Furthermore, the company has two preclinical development programmes. In 2015, Pharmaxis’ platform was validated through a licence deal with Boehringer Ingelheim – the candidate drug BI 1467335 (formerly known as  PXS-4728A) is in Phase II testing for NASH and Diabetic Retinopathy.