NovImmune Completes CHF 62.5 (USD 54.8) Million Equity Financing to Move Portfolio Forward and Reacquire Product Rights to Lead Antibodies

PLAN-LES-OUATES, Switzerland, May 12 /PRNewswire/ — NovImmune, an
immunology-focused biotech company dedicated to the development of
therapeutic monoclonal antibodies, announced today that it has raised CHF
62.5 million (USD 54.8 million) to take back control of its lead compounds
(NI-0401 and NI-0501, a fully human monoclonal antibody to CD3 and
interferon-gamma, respectively) and for further development of its pipeline.
The transaction was led by BZ Bank Aktiengesellschaft.

Jack Barbut, CEO of NovImmune, said: “The Company has made great progress
and remains strictly focused on achieving its goals to progress NovImmune’s
rich pipeline. We are proud to complete this transaction which allows us to
continue to execute our long term business plan. With the current financing,
NovImmune now has regained full control of two of its lead compounds from
MerckSerono and is looking forward to moving ahead with the seven products in
its portfolio.”

Eduard E. Holdener, MD, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said “This
substantial capital increase allows NovImmune to progress its projects along
the value chain while preparing the company for important strategic
partnerships that might involve one or multiple compounds of its portfolio”.

Key appointments to the executive management team

NovImmune extended its executive management team by appointing Penelope
Ward, MD, as Chief Medical Officer, Luca Bolliger, PhD, as Head of Business
Development, and Olivia Maurel, PharmD, as Head of Regulatory Affairs.
Penelope joined from F.Hoffmann-La Roche AG where she was global Head of
Rheumatology and local Head of Clinical Development in the Global Development
Center, Welwyn Garden City, UK. Before NovImmune, Luca was Director of
Business Development at Actelion. Olivia joined from Centocor (J&J), where
she was Head of the European Regulatory Affairs group for immunology
compounds. Complete biographies can be found at: http://www.novimmune.com.

NovImmune SA

NovImmune SA (‘NovImmune’) is a drug discovery and development company
with a focus on therapeutic mAbs for inflammatory diseases and immune-related
disorders.

NovImmune has generated, to date, seven proprietary mAbs. The pipeline is
a balance of preclinical and clinical compounds, with a mix of both
clinically validated as well as novel targets. Each of these portfolio
products has the potential to become a medicine for multiple medical
conditions due to the overlapping mechanism of action under laying these
types of diseases.

Two compounds are in clinical development, with the most advanced in
clinical phase II. The lead product, NI-0401/anti-CD3, is currently being
tested in Crohn’s disease, type 1 diabetes and transplantation.

The company was established in 1999 and has currently 70 employees
basedin Plan-les-Ouates/Geneva, Switzerland.

For more information please visit our website: http://www.novimmune.com.

SOURCE NovImmune