Circassia Raises GBP15 Million ($25 Million) in Oversubscribed Investment
Round

- Investment Follows Successful Phase II Clinical Results With cat Allergy T-cell Vaccine

- Funding to Progress ToleroMune(R) T-cell Allergy Vaccines Into Late-Stage Development

OXFORD, England, Dec. 11 /CNW/ - Circassia Ltd, a specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on allergy, today announced that it has completed a GBP15 million ( $25 million ) fundraising. The investment round, which was led by Imperial Innovations and supported by existing shareholders including Invesco Perpetual and Lansdowne Partners, was significantly oversubscribed and is the company's third successful fundraising. The investment follows recently announced positive phase II results with Circassia's ToleroMune(R) cat allergy T-cell vaccine. The financing will support the acceleration of the programme into late-stage development and advance the clinical development of Circassia's broader portfolio of novel allergy T-cell vaccines.

"The success of this funding round is a great vote of confidence in Circassia's unique allergy T-cell vaccine technology and the dedication of our team," said Steve Harris , Circassia's CEO. "Our most recent clinical results clearly demonstrate the potential of our ToleroMune(R) technology, as well as scientifically validating our novel use of T-cell vaccines to improve the treatment of allergy sufferers. This new investment recognises the importance of these results, and represents a strategic milestone in the development of Circassia's next generation allergy treatments."

About Circassia's allergy T-cell vaccines

Circassia's range of allergy T-cell vaccines is based on its proprietary ToleroMune(R) technology. This technology utilises allergen epitopes to generate regulatory T cells that suppress allergic immune responses. Clinical results with Circassia's cat allergy T-cell vaccine show that short treatment regimes can greatly reduce patients' symptoms, without the need for adjuvants or other immune stimulators, while proving extremely well tolerated. As a result, the company's allergy T-cell vaccines offer major potential clinical benefits compared with existing therapies, and consequently have significant market opportunities. Over 150 million people suffer from allergic rhinitis in the US and Europe , and the current treatment market is approximately $12 billion per year.

ToleroMune technology has additional potential regulatory and supply chain benefits. The short peptides utilised in Circassia's vaccines are manufactured chemically, in contrast to existing allergen immunotherapies, which are purified from natural sources. Circassia's approach applies the chemistry, manufacturing and control standards associated with conventional pharmaceuticals to its allergy T-cell vaccines. This fits with changes in the European regulatory environment, where authorities are increasingly treating allergen immunotherapies as pharmaceutical products, and requiring elimination of the batch-to-batch potency variability that is an intrinsic feature of many currrent treatments.

About Circassia

Circassia has a highly experienced management team with a proven track record in product development and commercialisation. Having successfully completed three fundraising rounds the company is backed by a syndicate of world-class venture capital and institutional investors, including Imperial Innovations, Invesco Perpetual, Goldman Sachs and Lansdowne Partners.

For more information please visit http://www.circassia.co.uk.

For further information: Steve Harris, CEO, Circassia, Tel: [phone]; Rob Budge, RJB Communications, Tel: [phone], Mobile: [phone]