Allakos Secures $100 Million In Series B Financing

Proceeds will support advancement of AK002 in five disease areas 

Lead clinical program evaluating AK002 in eosinophilic gastroenteritis, an inflammatory gastrointestinal disease 

SAN CARLOS, Calif., Dec. 13, 2017 -- Allakos Inc., a private, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of antibodies for the treatment of allergic, inflammatory and proliferative diseases, today announced the successful completion of a $100 million Series B equity financing. The Series B was led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and included Redmile Group, Partner Fund Management, Rock Springs Capital, LifeSci Venture Partners, Samsara BioCapital, and a large institutional investor, as well as existing investors Alta Partners, RiverVest Venture Partners, Roche Venture Fund, and 3X5 Partners. Paul Walker, a Partner at NEA, will join the Company’s Board of Directors. 

Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance Allakos’s development programs including the Company’s lead clinical candidate, AK002, which is being evaluated in patients with eosinophilic gastritis, indolent systemic mastocytosis (ISM), urticaria and severe allergic conjunctivitis. This investment also will support Allakos’s preclinical programs. 

“We are excited to welcome a distinguished group of new investors to Allakos and appreciate the support of our existing investors,” said Robert Alexander, Ph.D., and Chief Executive Officer of Allakos. “The Allakos team is committed to developing antibodies to potentially treat a broad range of conditions for which there are no approved therapies or where treatment options come with undesirable side effects. We have made tremendous progress during 2017 and, with this financing, we look forward to continuing the development of AK002 and our preclinical programs.”

“Allakos’s highly differentiated approach has the potential to deliver first-in-class treatments for serious illnesses affecting both large and rare disease populations,” said Paul Walker. “I welcome the opportunity to work with the experienced leadership team at Allakos as they conduct clinical trials in several important disease indications.”

About Allakos
Allakos is a privately held clinical-stage company developing antibodies that target immunomodulatory receptors present on the surface of immune effector cells involved in allergic, inflammatory, and proliferative diseases. The Company’s lead antibody, AK002, targets Siglec-8, an inhibitory receptor expressed on the surface of mast cells and eosinophils. AK002 has completed two Phase 1 studies, one in healthy volunteers and a single ascending dose study in patients with ISM. In addition, patients with ISM are currently being treated with AK002 for up to 12 months in a repeat dose study. In these studies, AK002 was well tolerated and demonstrated pharmacological activity on objective measures as well as patient reported symptoms.

For more information, please visit the Company's website at http://www.allakos.com/

Source: Allakos, Inc.

Investor Contact: 
Adam Tomasi, COO, CFO  
[email protected]  

Media Contact:
Denise Powell
[email protected]