Press Release
Antiva Biosciences Closes $53 Million Series E Equity Financing Led by MPM-BioImpact Capital and Names Kristine Ball President and CEO
Proceeds to Support Key Efficacy Studies for ABI-2280 including Phase 2 Trial in High-Grade Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia (CIN 2,3) and Exploratory Study as Treatment for High-Risk HPV Infections
South San Francisco, CA – April 27, 2023 – Antiva Biosciences, a biopharmaceutical company developing novel, topical therapeutics for the treatment of pre-cancerous lesions caused by human papilloma virus (HPV) infection, today announced the closing of a $53 million Series E equity financing. The financing was supported by a syndicate of premier life science investors led by MPM-BioImpact Capital, and joined by the company’s existing investors including Canaan Partners, Sofinnova Investments, Adjuvant Capital, GV and Lumira Ventures, among others. In conjunction with the financing, president and chief executive officer Gail Maderis is transitioning to chairman of the company’s board of directors and is being succeeded as CEO by Kristine Ball. Additionally, Ms. Ball, along with Florencia Segal, M.D., and Brian Goodman, Ph.D., both of MPM-BioImpact Capital, will join the Antiva board.
Proceeds from the financing, which will fund the company into late 2025, will support the advancement of the company’s lead development candidate,
The treatment of high-risk HPV infections with
“We believe that Antiva has the opportunity to make a transformative impact on global health across several large, unmet therapeutic indications with its
Dr. Goodman added, “With MPM-BioImpact’s growing focus on the field of virology, Antiva represents the type of impactful investment that we are looking to make in this space. We look forward to supporting Kristine in her new role as CEO and seeing the continued progress that is made under her leadership.”
Ms. Ball joins Antiva with more than 20 years of executive experience in the life sciences industry across companies of all stages ranging from discovery to clinical to commercial. She has significant transactional expertise, having participated in multiple initial public offerings, corporate M&A deals, partnerships and financings. Ms. Ball most recently served as chief executive officer of Soteria Biotherapeutics, a venture backed immuno-oncology company and previously held leadership positions at Menlo Therapeutics, Relypsa, Inc., and KAI Pharmaceuticals, and served on the board of Forty Seven, Inc., until its acquisition by Gilead. Ms. Ball currently sits on the board of Atreca, Inc., a publicly traded, clinical-stage oncology company.
“I am deeply grateful for this opportunity to join Antiva at such an exciting time in the company’s maturation.
“I take great pride in turning the CEO role over to Kristine with the company in such a strong position following this transformative financing. She is a talented and experienced life science executive who is perfectly suited to lead Antiva as it expands clinical development of
About HPV-Related Diseases and Cervical Cancer
Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is so common that nearly all sexually active men and women are infected with the virus at some point in their lives. Many of these are transient infections the body is capable of clearing, but this typically takes months to years. When the infections persist, they are known to drive the formation of malignancies, including cervical, anal, vulvar, penile, and head and neck cancers.
The introduction of prophylactic vaccines for HPV was a major step forward in the fight against HPV-associated cancers by preventing infection by certain high-risk HPV subtypes. However, due to low adoption rates in the US, EU, and Japan, and limited access to the vaccines in developing countries, HPV infections and the disease states driven by such infections remain a major unmet clinical need.
Globally, cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women and as such represents a major public health problem. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 604,000 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer worldwide and approximately 342,000 women died from the disease in 2020.
About Antiva Biosciences
Antiva Biosciences, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel, topical therapeutics for the treatment of diseases caused by HPV infection. The company, based in South San Francisco, was founded in 2012 by Dr. Karl Hostetler of The University of California San Diego. The company’s lead drug candidate,
Contact
Kristine Ball
Antiva Biosciences, Inc.
650-822-1400
info@antivabio.com
Tim Brons
Vida Strategic Partners (media)
646-319-8981
tbrons@vidasp.com