Ajax Therapeutics Raises $95 Million Series C Financing To Advance First-in-Class Type II JAK2 Inhibitor, AJ1-11095, Into The Clinic
13 Mayo 2024 - 6:00AM
Business Wire
– Financing led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives
with participation by new investors Lilly, Vivo Capital, RA Capital
Management, Point72 and existing investors –
– AJ1-11095 will be the first Type II JAK2
Inhibitor to enter the clinic; Phase 1 study in myelofibrosis
expected to begin in 2H 2024 –
Ajax Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing
next generation JAK inhibitors for patients with myeloproliferative
neoplasms (MPNs), today announced the closing of an oversubscribed
$95 million Series C financing. Proceeds from the financing will be
used to support the clinical development of Ajax’s first-in-class
Type II JAK2 inhibitor, AJ1‑11095, for the treatment of
myelofibrosis, as well as advancing the company’s pipeline of
treatments for MPNs.
The financing was led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives with
participation by Eli Lilly and Company, Vivo Capital, RA Capital
Management, Point72 and existing investors EcoR1 Capital, Boxer
Capital, Schr�dinger, Inc. and Inning One Ventures. Concurrent with
the financing, Amit Sinha, Head of Life Sciences Investing and Ming
Cheah, PhD, Vice President, within Life Sciences Investing at
Goldman Sachs Alternatives, joined Ajax’s board of directors.
“We’re pleased to have attracted this level of support from such
distinguished life sciences investors and biopharmaceutical
companies in addition to our existing investor syndicate,” said
Martin Vogelbaum, co-founder and CEO of Ajax Therapeutics. “We are
now well positioned to bring much needed innovation to the field of
JAK inhibitors for the treatment of MPNs and look forward to
advancing AJ1‑11095 into the clinic for myelofibrosis later this
year.”
AJ1-11095 was designed by Ajax, through our collaboration with
Schr�dinger, using structure-based drug design and computational
methods at scale, to selectively bind the Type II conformation of
the JAK2 kinase and to provide greater efficacy with disease
modification compared to all currently approved JAK2 inhibitors
which bind the Type I conformation of JAK2. Additionally, AJ1-11095
has been shown in preclinical studies to maintain efficacy against
MPN cells that become resistant to chronic Type I JAK2
inhibition.
“Despite significant advances brought by the introduction of JAK
inhibitors, patients with MPNs continue to have major unmet needs
as current therapies, including Type I JAK2 inhibitors, often fail
to provide adequate symptomatic relief and have little effect on
the underlying disease,” said Amit Sinha, Head of Life Sciences
Investing at Goldman Sachs Alternatives. “We look forward to
working with Ajax’s management team to bring novel therapies, such
as AJ1-11095, to patients with myelofibrosis.”
“JAK2 overactivation is central to the pathogenesis of MPNs and
a Type II JAK2 inhibitor has the potential to address MPNs beyond
myelofibrosis, including patients with polycythemia vera and
essential thrombocythemia” said Ming Cheah, a Vice President in
Life Sciences Investing at Goldman Sachs Alternatives. “We are
proud to support the Company in delivering a new generation of
transformational treatments for MPN patients.”
“This financing reinforces the value of Ajax’s approach to
inhibiting JAK2 with its Type II inhibitor, AJ1-11095,” said Dr.
Ross Levine, Ajax co-founder and Chair of Ajax’s Scientific
Advisory Board, Senior Vice President for MH Translational Research
and Member of the Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program at
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. “My lab has been studying
Type II inhibition of JAK2 for over 10 years and we believe
AJ1-11095 possesses the unique therapeutic properties and disease
modifying effects of a highly selective and potent Type II JAK2
inhibitor and we’re excited to bring it to patients with MF.”
About Ajax Therapeutics
Ajax Therapeutics, Inc. is pursuing uniquely selective
approaches to develop novel next generation therapies for
myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), including myelofibrosis. By
combining the deep cancer and structural biology insights of our
founding scientists with the industry’s most advanced computational
drug discovery and protein structure platforms, we aim to discover
and develop more precisely designed therapies to address the
significant unmet needs for patients with MPNs.
Please find more information at www.ajaxtherapeutics.com.
About Goldman Sachs Alternatives
Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) is one of the leading investors in
alternatives globally, with over $450 billion in assets and more
than 30 years of experience. The business invests in the full
spectrum of alternatives including private equity, growth equity,
life sciences, private credit, real estate, infrastructure, hedge
funds, and sustainability. Clients access these solutions through
direct strategies, customized partnerships, and open-architecture
programs. The business is driven by a focus on partnership and
shared success with its clients, seeking to deliver long-term
investment performance drawing on its global network and deep
expertise across industries and markets. The alternative
investments platform is part of Goldman Sachs Asset Management,
which delivers investment and advisory services across public and
private markets for the world’s leading institutions, financial
advisors, and individuals. Goldman Sachs has over $2.8 trillion in
assets under supervision globally as of March 31, 2024.
NOTE: Dr. Ross Levine serves on the board of directors of, has
provided advisory services for, and has equity interests in Ajax
Therapeutics. Dr. Levine also has intellectual property rights and
interests that MSK has licensed to Ajax. MSK has intellectual
property rights and other financial interests related to Ajax.
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Kathryn Morris, The Yates Network LLC 914-204-6412
kathryn@theyatesnetwork.com