20 Things You Didn’t Know about PepGen
PepGen is a biotechnology company that participates in clinical trials involving nucleic acid therapeutics. It seeks to unlock the full potential of this branch of therapeutics to develop drugs for the treatment of disease in humans. The headquarters for PepGen is in Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, and in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The firm made recent business and finance news when it announced plans to go public and offer shares of stock for sale and trade on the public exchange. If you’re not familiar with PepGen, here are twenty things about the organization that you probably didn’t know to bring you up to speed.
1. PepGen is an established company
Crunchbase reports that PepGen is still a new company. The business launched its operations in 2018. It’s only been in business for less than four years. It’s made a successful run of its first few years, staying in business when many other new companies have gone by the wayside. PepGen has ample investor support to sustain its first stages of development while it becomes established in the biotech industry. We discovered that the research conducted at the Massachusetts headquarters has been in process for longer. Studies go back to the year 1995 and the research on the topics of focus for more than twenty-two years as of 2022.
2. PepGen’s website uses a complex array of technologies
The PepGen website uses seventeen technologies to power its website. Our visit to the website confirms that the site operates smoothly, providing visitors with a satisfying experience with easy navigation of the site. Some of the technologies used to create a smooth user experience include Apple Mobile Web Clips Icon, iPhone Mobile Compatible, to allow access via smartphone, Viewport Meta, and over a dozen more technology products and services. PepGen has not disclosed the annual budget for IT expenses.
3. PepGen maintains uniqueness in the sea of biotech companies
PepGen stands out from other biotech companies because of its specific focus. The company has secured the sole rights of its intellectual properties that legally prevent others from copying or imitating its research methods and products. PepGen secured fourteen registered patents in the Medical or Veterinary Science: Hygiene category. It maintains the sole right to these intellectual properties that make it one of a kind in its field.
4. The popularity of PepGen is increasing
Reports of website analytics for PepGen show that the number of monthly visits is increasing. Over the past thirty days, a total of 13,526 people visited the website. The number represents a monthly visits growth of 228.54 percent. These figures help guide strategic planning for the company’s forward movement.
5. PepGen is the most popular in the United States
Although the headquarters for Pepgen is in the United Kingdom, only six percent of the visitors to the website are from that country. The company has also established a headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts. The website analytics report shows that ninety-four percent of web traffic comes from people living in the United States. The percentage represents a monthly visit growth of 221 percent over the past thirty days, which signals a significant amount of growth in interest.
6. PepGen has a five-member core executive leadership team
The core executive leadership team at PepGen consists of five members. Jaya Goyal is the executive vice president of research and preclinical development. James McArthur is the chief executive officer. Matthew Wood is a co-founder of PepGen. Caroline Godfrey is the senior vice president of discovery. Michael Gait is a co-founder. Each member brings their set of skills and business experience to the group to move the company forward in achieving its established goals and mission.
7. PepGen as a one-member board of directors
The board of PepGen consists of one member and advisor listed. Uciane Scarlett joined the board as an observer in 2019. She is a Principal at MPM Capital. she currently serves on four boards of directors in advisor roles. Uciane represents the interest of MPM Capital’s investments in the future of PepGen.
8. PepGen is a venture capital-backed organization
PepGen has participated in four rounds of venture capital fundraising. The most recent round of Venture Series Unknown fundraising closed on August 5, 2021. The total amount raised is $159.6 million.
9. PepGen has high investor confidence
PepGen attracted and secured the support and financial backing of thirteen investors. Investor confidence is apparent in a large number of funds invested by a solid number of wealthy investment firms. Some of the investors supporting PepGen are Laurion Capital Management, CureDuchenne Ventures, Viking Global Investors, Gray’s Creek Capital Partners, Adage Capital Management, Samsara BioCapital, Qatar Investment Authority, RA Capital Management Tudor Investments, Deerfield Management, MPM Capital, and others.
10. PepGen leverages previous knowledge to advance its platform
PepGen confirms that PepGen’s platform is based on more than ten years of previous research data on enhanced delivery oligonucleotide studies. They’re on a mission to develop, then leverage cell-penetrative peptides that will enhance the activity and uptake of therapeutic drugs based on the science of conjugated oligonucleotides. They’re working on the target of RNA sequences responsible for the cause of disease to develop therapies that will treat genetic disorders by delivering treatments to the affected cells and tissues in the human body. The research they engage in is challenging and innovative. Many challenges lie ahead as they continue moving forward in unlocking one mystery at a time to unravel the secrets of the causes of genetic diseases to find the most suitable, safe, and effective treatments.
11. PepGen is making progress in discoveries
The PepGen pipeline is filled with discoveries that are in various stages of development. So far, they’ve discovered five targets using its novel enhanced delivery oligonucleotide platform. The targets discovered are disease-modifying peptide-conjugated oligonucleotide candidates. Their purpose is to treat various degenerative neuromuscular diseases. Some of the diseases targeted for treatment are Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and myotonic dystrophy Type 1. Neither of these conditions has been inhibited by effective treatment strategies and they remain challenges within the medical profession. PepGen is working to make discoveries that will result in treatments with clinically proven efficacy in treating the progression of these diseases.
12. PepGen went pubic recently
PepGen went public on May 5, 2022. The company moved from a private venture capital-backed organization to one that offers shares of its stock for sale and trade on the public exchange. It is listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol PEPG. If you’re looking for a ground-floor stock to add to your portfolio, PepGen is a new addition to the stock exchange. It may be worth checking with your financial advisor to see if PepGen is a suitable choice for inclusion.
13. PepGen’s shares opened at $12.00 per share
PepGen opened trading at its IPO on May 5, 2022, with common shares of its stock opening at $12.00 per share. The initial offering put nine million shares of common stock on the table. Underwriters were granted a 30-day option to purchase common stock shares at the IPO price with a limit of 1,350,000 shares available. The expected fundraising effort hoped to raise $108 million from the IPO with its closing set for May 10, 2022. Book runners for the IPO for PepGen were SVB Securities, Stifel, and Bank of America Securities with Wedbush PacGrow, the lead manager.
14. PepGen is a small biotech firm
PepGen’s LinkedIn Page confirms that the operation is still small and the company runs on a light crew of just 38 employees. All employees associated with the operation are essential to its operation. We recently learned that PepGen has plans to expand its current workforce. The company listed ten new job openings on its LinkedIn page. All job openings are for technical positions at the Cambridge, Massachusetts headquarters. The firm is hiring two Scientists in the analytical development sector, a senior manager for external quality assurance, an associate director, FP&A, in a hybrid position, an on-site medical director, a senior scientist in preclinical research and discovery, and several other positions at the executive level. It’s a positive indication that PepGen is ramping up its operations with multiple candidates in its current pipeline.
15. PepGen has three founders
PepGen has three founders. The company’s owners are Caroline Godfrey, Matthew Wood, and Michael Gait. Each member of the founding team brings a high level of expertise to the company. Caroline Godfrey serves as the senior vice president of discovery at the United Kingdom headquarters for PepGen. She earned her BSC with honors in Genetics from the University of Sheffield. She continued her education at UCL where she earned her doctorate of philosophy degree in neuromuscular disease in 2010. She pursued postdoctoral research at the University College London at the Institute of Child Health in London, England.
16. Matthew Wood is a co-founder
Matthew Wood is one of three co-founders of PepGen. He is a professor of Neuroscience at Oxford University. he is a Ph.D. and earned his MD degree. He served as the deputy head of the Innovation division, deputy to the pro-vice-chancellor for innovation, and professor of neuroscience in the pediatrics department at the University of Oxford. Dr. Wood also serves at the Oxford Centre for Rare Disease and is the Director of the Oxford Neuromuscular Centre. He is known internationally for his expertise in advancing the development of oligonucleotide therapies. He is an exceptionally knowledgeable member of the team at PepGen.
17. Michael Gait is a co-founder of PepGen
The third co-founder of PepGen is also a doctoral-level professional. Doctor Gait earned his doctoral degree from the University of Birmingham in Nucleic Acids chemistry. He completed postdoctoral studies in the United States at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He worked at the LMB in the UK as a staff scientist, advancing to senior staff scientist and a leader of the MRC Programme. he retired in 2017 and continued work with Matthew Wood developing peptide conjugates for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy and other diseases of the neuromuscular category.
18. James McArthur is the chief executive officer of PepGen
James McArthur is the CEO of PepGen. He has spent the past 25 years building biotech companies that develop treatments for neuromuscular disorders. He is also a serial entrepreneur who has founded five companies, some of which have been acquired by larger biotech corporations. He continues his ongoing research through PepGen. McArthur earned his BSc degree in biochemistry from McGill University. He also earned a Ph.D. in molecular oncology from the institution. He continued with postdoctoral studies in immunology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1989 through 1991. He followed up with further postdoctoral studies at the University of California, Berkeley in immunology from 1991 through 1993.
19. PepGen is run by a skilled team of professionals
Our research has revealed that the cofounders and leaders at PepGen come from impressive schools of thought and hold high credentials in their respective fields of study. All are highly educated professionals who spent time researching postdoctoral studies to continue learning and growth to further advance technology in the biotechnology industry.
20. PepGen is a company to keep your eye on
PepGen has only been formally recognized as a publicly-traded company since May 5, 2022. It was founded in 2018, but the roots of its studies and research topics go back to 1995. The co-founders and leadership bring a high level of expertise to the company, which has secured multiple patents on its discoveries and products in the pipeline. PepGen has gone public and offers common shares of its stock for sale and trade on the Nasdaq stock exchange. If you’re interested in diversifying your portfolio, PepGen may be a stock worth discussing with your financial advisor. It’s a potential investment that may be one to keep an eye on.
