ABOUT ORCHARD THERAPEUTICS PLC
Company Overview
We are a global gene therapy company dedicated to ending the devastation caused by genetic and other severe diseases. We aim to do this by discovering, developing and commercializing new treatments using the curative potential of hematopoietic stem cell, or HSC, gene therapy. Our ex vivo autologous HSC gene therapy approach harnesses the power of genetically modified blood stem cells and seeks to correct the underlying cause of disease in a single administration. We seek to achieve this outcome by utilizing a lentiviral vector to introduce a functional copy of a missing or faulty gene into the patient’s own, or autologous, HSCs through an ex vivo process, resulting in a gene-modified cellular drug product that can then be administered to the patient at the bedside.
To date, over 170 patients have been treated with our current and former product candidates across seven different diseases, with follow-up periods of more than 11 years following a single administration. We believe the data observed across these development programs, in combination with our expertise in the development, manufacturing and commercialization of gene and cell therapies, position us to provide potentially curative therapies to people suffering from a broad range of diseases.
We are currently focusing our ex vivo autologous HSC gene therapy approach on severe neurometabolic diseases and early research programs. Our lead program is OTL-200, which was approved in the European Union, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the brand name Libmeldy for eligible patients with early-onset metachromatic leukodystrophy, or MLD. In August 2023 we announced that we completed a rolling BLA for OTL-200.
Our portfolio includes a commercial-stage product and research and development-stage product candidates. We believe our approach of using lentiviral vectors to genetically modify HSCs has wide-ranging applicability to a large number of indications. The ability of HSCs to differentiate into multiple cell types allows us to drive the migration of gene-corrected cells into multiple physiological systems and organs, including the central nervous system, immune system, red blood cell and platelet lineage, as well as the intestine, lung, bone, and liver. This enables the delivery of therapeutic enzymes and proteins locally to potentially correct multiple severe genetic diseases. By leveraging the innate self-renewing capability of HSCs that are engrafted in the bone marrow as well as the ability of lentiviral vectors to achieve stable integration of a modified gene into the chromosomes of HSCs, our gene therapies have the potential to provide a durable effect following a single administration.
Private Placement
In connection with the Private Placement, on March 6, 2023, we entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement, or the Purchase Agreement, with the purchasers named therein, or the Purchasers, pursuant to which we agreed to sell to the Purchasers, up to an aggregate of (i) 99,166,900 shares, consisting of a combination of Ordinary Shares and Non-Voting Ordinary Shares and (ii) accompanying warrants to purchase an aggregate of 109,083,590 Ordinary Shares or Non-Voting Ordinary Shares.
The Private Placement consisted of two closings. On March 10, 2023 we sold in the initial closing of the Private Placement (i) 40,053,500 Ordinary Shares, (ii) 16,613,400 Non-Voting Ordinary Shares and (iii) warrants to purchase an aggregate of 62,333,590 Ordinary Shares or Non-Voting Ordinary Shares, at a purchase price of $6.00 per ten (10) shares and accompanying warrant to purchase eleven (11) Ordinary Shares or Non-Voting Ordinary Shares. On June 22, 2023, we sold in the second closing of the Private Placement an aggregate of (i) 13,408,074 Ordinary Shares, (ii) 29,091,926 Non-Voting Ordinary Shares and (iii) warrants to purchase an aggregate of 46,750,000 Ordinary Shares or Non-Voting Ordinary Shares, at a purchase price of $8.00 per ten (10) shares and accompanying warrant to purchase eleven (11) Ordinary Shares or Non-Voting Ordinary Shares.
Purchasers of Non-Voting Ordinary Shares do not have the right to redesignate any Non-Voting Ordinary Shares into Ordinary Shares if such Purchaser, together with its affiliates, would beneficially own in excess of 9.99% of the number of voting Ordinary Shares (including Ordinary Shares that may be represented by ADSs) outstanding
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