Selecta Biosciences entered into a debt financing facility for up to $35 million with Oxford Finance and Silicon Valley Bank. Selecta Biosciences will use the proceeds from the financing to retire $12.6 million of existing debt, advance its ImmTOR pipeline in gene therapy and autoimmune diseases, and for selected business development activities.

“This partnership with Oxford Finance and SVB bolsters our financial position and extends our cash runway as we look to accelerate the development of our ImmTOR pipeline in gene therapy and autoimmune diseases,” Brad Dahms, CFO of Selecta Biosciences, said. “We are pleased to continue our relationship with SVB and are excited to partner with Oxford Finance on this facility at such an important time for Selecta.”

“We are thrilled to support Selecta’s efforts to continue development of its ImmTOR platform,” Christopher A. Herr, senior managing director at Oxford Finance, said. “The potential for ImmTOR in gene therapy and autoimmune diseases align with our strategy of funding innovative life sciences companies”.

“Selecta is driving important advancements in biologic therapies through its ImmTOR platform,” Ryan Roller, director of life science and healthcare at Silicon Valley Bank, said. “We are pleased to expand our relationship with the Selecta team and have the opportunity to support the company’s next phase of growth.”

Under the terms of the financing agreement, Oxford Finance and Silicon Valley Bank will provide Selecta Biosciences with up to $35 million of borrowing capacity available in two tranches: $25 million at closing and an additional $10 million available through Sept. 30, 2021 upon the achievement of two development milestones: enrollment of the first patient in the Phase I clinical trial of Selecta Biosciences’ gene therapy program in methylmalonic acidemia and the enrollment of the first patient in each of the two Phase III clinical trials of SEL-212 in chronic refractory gout. The facility will require Selecta Biosciences to make only interest payments through at least April 1, 2022. If the development milestones are met, the interest-only period will be extended to Oct. 1, 2022. The entire facility matures on Aug. 1, 2025. There are no financial covenants in the agreement.

Selecta Biosciences is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on biologic therapies based on its immune tolerance platform (ImmTOR).