By Adriano Marchese
Apogee Therapeutics secured $1.3 billion in financing from Blackstone Life Sciences and reported strong phase-2 results for its dermatitis treatment.
The clinical-stage biotechnology company said Wednesday that the new funds will go toward advancing its lead drug, zumilokibart, through phase-3 trials and into commercialization.
The drug aims to treat moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis, which is the more intense, chronic form of eczema, where the skin inflation persists and can significantly affect daily life.
The financing is nondilutive, and is one of Blackstone Life Science's largest royalty financing for a pre-phase 3 program to date. The up-to $1.3 billion is made up of $800 million of synthetic royalty and up to $500 million of senior debt.
Blackstone will receive returns from tiered royalties for a term of 15 years on worldwide annual sales of zumilokibart.
The news follows Apogee's positive data from part B of the phase 2 Apex clinical study of the treatment, which found that zumilokibart met its primary and secondary endpoints with high statistical significance, it said.
The company said it is also planning to trial the drug for treating asthma and eosinophilic esophagitis--an allergic condition--, supporting zumilokibart's potential as a pipeline-in-a-product opportunity across multiple diseases.
Apogee noted that the mid-dose performed best and now plans to move into phase 3 in the second half of 2026.
Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 27, 2026 07:24 ET (11:24 GMT)
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