Avalo Therapeutics Successfully Eliminates $35 Million Debt Paving the Way for Future Growth and Innovation

WAYNE, Pa. and ROCKVILLE, Md., Sept. 26, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In a major achievement, Avalo Therapeutics (Nasdaq: AVTX) proudly announces the payoff of the remainder of its $35 million debt owed to Horizon Technology Finance Corporation (Nasdaq: HRZN). This significant milestone not only signifies the company's steadfast commitment to financial stability but also paves the way for future accelerated growth and progress toward executing its ambitious plans to advance its most promising drug candidates, including its anti-LIGHT mAb (quisovalimab or AVTX-002) and its BTLA agonist fusion protein (AVTX-008).

Dr. Garry A. Neil, MD, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of the Board at Avalo Therapeutics, expressed his enthusiasm about this crucial financial achievement, stating, "Eliminating our $35 million debt is a testament to the dedication and hard work of our entire team. It is a pivotal moment for Avalo, signaling our readiness to embrace new opportunities and transform the lives of patients with immunological diseases and addressing unmet medical needs. With a strengthened balance sheet, the company is well-positioned to pursue collaborations, expand research efforts, and bring innovative treatments to market. Our lead asset, quisovalimab, is a potential first-in-class fully human mAb against an important immunological target and has already demonstrated clinical proof of concept in both acute and chronic inflammatory diseases. Additionally, we believe AVTX-008, our BTLA agonist fusion protein, has potential to be a best-in-class molecule. It addresses an increasingly recognized and important target for a variety of immune diseases as evidenced by Gilead’s $405 million acquisition of MiroBio. Our highly skilled and capable team are executing well against our plan. We can now turn our attention to moving our development programs forward as well as looking for new opportunities to augment our very promising pipeline.” 

Dr. Neil continued, “We’d like to thank our colleagues at our lender, Horizon Technology Finance, who worked professionally, collaboratively and constructively with us to achieve this milestone."

Gerald A. Michaud, President of Horizon Technology Finance Corporation, said, “We were very impressed with the focus and professionalism that Garry and his management team showed in paying off this debt in full and ahead of schedule in a challenging market environment for biotechnology. Avalo created and executed a coherent and investable strategy that included eliminating non-essential costs, streamlining the pipeline on their most highly valued assets, operational excellence and executing multiple business development transactions that brought in significant non-dilutive funding. We are proud of our role in helping promising emerging companies, like Avalo, achieve their financial goals and wish Avalo Therapeutics much future success.”