Advising Apollo Therapeutics on $145 million financing

We have advised Apollo Therapeutics , a biopharmaceutical company progressing transformative treatments based on breakthrough discoveries, on its $145 million financing. Led by Patient Square Capital, and with participation from additional investors including Rock Springs Capital, Reimagined Ventures and UCL Technology Fund, this investment will support the advancement of Apollo's pipeline into clinical development, expansion of operations in the UK and US, and the pursuit of new collaborations with academic researchers across the globe.

Commenting on the deal, lead Partner Andrew Edge, said "We were thrilled to be able to assist Apollo on this huge step forward for the business. As passionate supporters of the Life Sciences and Healthcare sector, we are pleased to have been part of Apollo's ground-breaking journey and look forward to seeing what comes next."

Originally established in 2015 as a unique joint venture between the University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, University College London, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline and Johnson & Johnson Innovation, Apollo was conceived to bridge the gap between deep academic science and eventual patient benefit in as efficient a way as possible in terms of time and capital.

Apollo now leverages a portfolio-based model with a centralised team of drug development ‘architects’ working alongside teams of subject matter experts. Together, these teams rigorously assess therapeutic programs in a data-driven manner, prioritising critical experiments to de-risk programs early. The company can comprehensively evaluate programs, while committing minimal spend until biological validation is demonstrated. This capital efficiency allows Apollo to focus on scaling a robust and potentially transformative pipeline, with over 15 therapeutic programs in development today across oncology, major inflammatory disorders and rare disease.

The team was led by Corporate Partners, Andrew Edge and Chris Cowley, with support from Associate Alex Dodds and Trainee Phil Cerny.

Additional support was provided by Employment Senior Associate, James Watkins.