Woburn, Mass. – December 20, 2011 – Excelimmune, Inc. today announced that the company has raised $12 million from a private investor. Proceeds will be used by Excelimmune to develop its infectious disease programs, including Staphguard, a human recombinant polyclonal antibody (HRPA) candidate against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and to expand its discovery programs to new disease targets beyond infectious diseases through its antibody screening technology.

“Novel treatments in nocosomial infections that can overcome treatment challenges such as resistance are urgently needed, and the continued financial support will enable us to advance our programs toward clinical trials,” said Quinton Zondervan, Chief Executive Officer or Excelimmune. “We believe HRPAs will provide a safer and more effective treatment option for nocosomial infectious compared to conventional anti-infective drugs. Beyond infectious diseases, HRPAs have broad potential across multiple therapeutic areas, for which we are pursuing partnerships. We are also expanding our personnel and pipeline to further exploit our technology’s potential.”

About Human Recombinant Polyclonal Antibodies
Human recombinant polyclonal antibodies are mixed populations of therapeutic antibodies that bind to multiple regions (epitopes) on a specific antigen or to multiple antigens (of bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms), in contrast to monoclonal antibodies, which only bind to one specific epitope. By binding to multiple regions, the polyclonal antibodies allow the body to fight off illness more readily. The antibodies are cloned from naturally occurring human antibodies in a laboratory and are then manufactured for human medical use.
About Excelimmune
Excelimmune, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of recombinant polyclonal antibodies to create novel therapies for treating disease in humans. Excelimmune’s antibody therapies harness the diversity and effectiveness of the human body’s adaptive immune system. The company is initially focusing on the treatment of infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus, including the drug resistant superbug, MRSA. This next generation technology is also believed to be applicable in the treatment of other pathogenic bacteria and viruses, disease causing proteins, and cancer. Excelimmune, founded in 2006, is a private company located in Woburn, Mass. www.excelimmune.com.
Contacts
Excelimmune:
Quinton Zondervan, 617-497-4303 x10 (NO SOLICITING)
CEO

Media:
MacDougall Biomedical Communications
Kari Watson, 781-235-3060
kwatson@macbiocom.com

WOBURN, Mass. – May 31, 2011 – Excelimmune, Inc. today announced the final closing of a $10.5 million Series B financing. Proceeds from the Series B will enable Excelimmune to advance Staphguard, a human recombinant polyclonal antibody (HRPA) candidate against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), toward the clinic, enhance the Company’s discovery platform and complete proof-of-principle for its manufacturing systems. The Series B funding was provided by a syndicate of new and existing high net worth individual investors.

“The continued support from investors underscores the significant potential of our unique HRPA approach to treating nosocomial infectious disease,” said Quinton Zondervan, Chief Executive Officer of Excelimmune. “In addition to doubling Excelimmune’s size over the past year, this funding provides us with the capital required to enter the next stage of our product and technology development.”

“Excelimmune has attracted significant interest from potential partners,” added Joy Barton, who heads business development at Excelimmune. “We believe collaborating with industry partners will enable us to expand the application of our HRPA technology beyond infection into new therapeutic areas.”

Excelimmune presented positive results from a preclinical study at the 50th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC). In the study, at a MRSA dose 100 percent lethal in the control group, the group treated with Staphguard experienced 100 percent survival.

“With complete survival achieved at an antibody concentration far lower than typically required for monoclonal antibodies, the Staphguard preclinical study establishes proof-of-principle of Excelimmune’s polyclonal approach,” said Vincent Coljee, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at Excelimmune. “We believe this approach is particularly well suited to addressing complex antigens such as those expressed by bacteria and other infectious agents.”

About Human Recombinant Polyclonal Antibodies
Human recombinant polyclonal antibodies are mixed populations of therapeutic antibodies that bind to multiple regions (epitopes) on a specific antigen or to multiple antigens (of bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms), in contrast to monoclonal antibodies, which only bind to one specific epitope. By binding to multiple regions, the polyclonal antibodies allow the body to fight off illness more readily. The antibodies are cloned from naturally occurring human antibodies in a laboratory and are then manufactured for human medical use.

About Excelimmune
Excelimmune, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of recombinant polyclonal antibodies to create novel therapies for treating disease in humans. Excelimmune’s antibody therapies harness the diversity and effectiveness of the human body’s adaptive immune system. The company is initially focusing on the treatment of infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus, including the drug resistant superbug, MRSA. This next generation technology is also believed to be applicable in the treatment of other pathogenic bacteria and viruses, disease causing proteins, and cancer. Excelimmune, founded in 2006, is a private company located in Woburn, Mass. www.excelimmune.com.

Contacts

Excelimmune:
Quinton Zondervan, 617-497-4303 x10
CEO

Media:
MacDougall Biomedical Communications
Kari Watson, 781-235-3060
kwatson@macbiocom.com

WOBURN, Mass. – Excelimmune, Inc. announced positive results from preclinical studies evaluating the efficacy of its human recombinant polyclonal antibody (HRPA) therapy against infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The results were presented in a poster session at the 50th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC). The study demonstrated full immune protection against an otherwise 100% lethal dose of MRSA, and this result was achieved at an antibody concentration far lower than that typically required for monoclonal antibodies. MRSA is currently a leading cause of death due to infectious disease in the United States, surpassing deaths from HIV/AIDS-related infections and tuberculosis combined.

Excelimmune is generating a HRPA therapy against S. aureus by cloning antibodies from many different individuals who have been naturally exposed to a variety of S. aureus strains, including MRSA, from the environment. These efforts may result in a broad-spectrum therapeutic with neutralizing activity against multiple S. aureus antigens. “The study represents an important proof-of-principle for Excelimmune’s unique approach,” said Quinton Zondervan, Chief Executive Officer. “Excelimmune seeks to address a major unmet need in treating drug-resistant bacterial infections by creating a diverse mixture of cloned human antibodies that target the disease agent. We are actively optimizing the formulation of our proprietary antibody composition against a diversity of S. aureus strains, including MRSA.”

Vincent Coljee, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Excelimmune, added, “Excelimmune’s HRPA technology is designed to fill the gap between monoclonal antibodies and IVIG therapeutics by harnessing the synergistic action of multiple antibodies using a production process that overcomes the inherent supply and safety limitations of blood-derived immunoglobulin products. HRPA therapeutics can be manufactured using recombinant techniques outside of the human body. Furthermore, by being fully human, HRPA therapeutics are less likely to cause side effects than artificially constructed, humanized or animal-derived antibodies."

About the Study

In the study, a preclinical model was used to compare an antibody cocktail consisting of five unique antibodies (pentaclonal) with untreated controls against increasing doses of S. aureus. The pentaclonal cocktail binds to several different S. aureus antigens. At S. aureus doses that were 100% lethal in the control group, there was 100% survival in the group treated with the pentaclonal. In fact, the pentaclonal provided such effective protection that the amount of S. aureus required for 50% lethality was nearly doubled in the pentaclonal group as compared to the control group. The poster, titled “Human Recombinant Antibody (Ab) Cocktails Protect against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Infection in Mice,” was presented in a session from 11:15 AM to 1:15 PM on Monday, September 13, 2010.

About Human Recombinant Polyclonal Antibodies

Human recombinant polyclonal antibodies are mixed populations of therapeutic antibodies that bind to multiple regions (epitopes) on a specific antigen or to multiple antigens (of bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms), in contrast to monoclonal antibodies, which only bind to one specific epitope. By binding to multiple regions, the polyclonal antibodies allow the body to fight off illness more readily. The antibodies are cloned from naturally occurring human antibodies in a laboratory and are then manufactured for human medical use.

About Excelimmune

Excelimmune, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of recombinant polyclonal antibodies to create novel therapies for treating disease in humans. Excelimmune’s antibody therapies harness the diversity and effectiveness of the human body’s adaptive immune system. The company is initially focusing on the treatment of infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus, including the drug resistant superbug, MRSA. This next generation technology is also believed to be applicable in the treatment of other pathogenic bacteria and viruses, disease causing proteins, and cancer. Excelimmune, founded in 2006, is a private company located in Woburn, MA.

Media Contact:
Kari Watson, MacDougall Biomedical Communications
(781) 235-3060
kwatson@macbiocom.com

A copy of the poster in PDF format is available for download here.

WOBURN, MA – October 28, 2009 – Excelimmune, Inc. (www.excelimmune.com) announced today that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded the company a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to support research aimed at developing new treatments for Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) infection, employing Excelimmune’s expertise in developing novel antibody therapies for human disease. The SBIR grant will fund a project entitled “The Creation of a Human Recombinant Polyclonal Antibody Therapy against C. difficile,” which will be conducted at Excelimmune’s new facility in Woburn, MA and in consortium with the Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence, RI.

“This grant is an important milestone for our company,” said Quinton Zondervan, President and CEO of Excelimmune. “The support from the NIH will allow us to expand and accelerate our development program focused on using human recombinant polyclonal antibodies to fight infectious disease.”

Excelimmune has developed a novel platform for the creation of human recombinant polyclonal antibodies. Using this platform, Excelimmune is targeting bacterial pathogens that cause disease, including C. difficile.

About Human Recombinant Polyclonal Antibodies

Human recombinant polyclonal antibodies are mixed populations of therapeutic antibodies that bind to multiple regions (epitopes) on a specific antigen or to multiple antigens (of bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms), in contrast to monoclonal antibodies, which only bind to one specific epitope. By binding to multiple regions, the polyclonal antibodies allow the body to fight off illness more readily. The antibodies are cloned from naturally occurring human antibodies in a laboratory and are then manufactured for human medical use.

About Clostridium difficile

Clostridium difficile (C. difficile or C. diff) is a bacterium that can cause diarrhea and serious intestinal conditions such as colitis (inflammation of the colon) or perforation of the colon. Infection typically occurs after prolonged use of antibiotics, in the elderly (especially in those with serious underlying illnesses), and in hospitals or long-term care facilities. C. difficile infection is currently treated using intensive third-line antibiotics. During the mid- and late 1990s, the reported incidence of C. difficile infection in acute care hospitals in the United States remained stable at 30 to 40 cases per 100,000 populations. In 2005, the rate of infection (84 per 100,000) was nearly three times the 1996 rate. Increased illness rates may be due to the emergence of a highly virulent strain of C. difficile that has grown more resistant to current antibiotic regimens1.

About Excelimmune

Excelimmune, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of recombinant polyclonal antibodies to create novel therapies for curing disease in humans. The next generation technology is applicable in the treatment of common bacteria, disease causing proteins, viral pathogens and cancer. Excelimmune’s antibody therapies harness the diversity and effectiveness of the human body’s adaptive immune system. Excelimmune, founded in 2006, is a private company located in Woburn, MA. More information regarding Excelimmune can be found at www.excelimmune.com.

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Excelimmune moved its operations to a new facility at 12-B Cabot Road in Woburn.

Excelimmune moved its operations to a larger facility at 763D Concord Ave. in Cambridge.

Excelimmune moved into its new laboratory facility managed by West Cambridge Science Park at 767C Concord Ave. in June 2007.

Excelimmune closed its Series-A round with Greenheart, LLC as the sole investor in May 2007.