In May 2011, White Rock Capital (WRC) was one of three founders of Biolife, a stem cell bank company. In 2012, WRC was the catalyst for the strategic pivot of the company to gene therapy and Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). Biolife was renamed Avexis in January 2014 and completed an IPO in February 2016. Novartis acquired the company in May 2018 for $8.7 billion. On May 24, 2019, “Zolgensma” was approved by the FDA as a treatment for SMA patients.

Prior to its acquisition, Avexis was a clinical-stage gene therapy company dedicated to developing and commercializing novel treatments for patients suffering from rare and life-threatening neurological genetic diseases. The initial product candidate, AVXS-101, was a proprietary gene therapy product for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy, or SMA, Type 1, the leading genetic cause of infant mortality. SMA Type 1 is a lethal genetic disorder characterized by motor neuron loss and associated muscle deterioration, resulting in mortality or the need for permanent ventilation support before the age of two for greater than 90% of patients. The survival motor neuron, or SMN, is a critical protein for normal motor neuron signaling and function. Patients with SMA Type 1 either carry a mutation in their SMN1 gene or their SMN1 genes have been deleted, which prevents them from producing adequate levels of functional SMN protein. AVXS-101 delivered a fully functional human SMN gene into the nuclei of motor neurons that then generates an increase in SMN protein levels improving motor neuron function and patient outcomes. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, granted AVXS-101 orphan drug designation for the treatment of all types of SMA and fast-track designation for the treatment of SMA Type 1.

In October 2013, White Rock Capital (WRC) was the first investor in Agilis Biotherapeutics along with prior research partners. The company was established with a focus on rare diseases beginning with Friedreich Ataxia (FA) and Aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC), two nervous system disorders. In July 2018, the company was acquired by PTC Therapeutics for up to $1.053 billion with guaranteed payments and future milestones.

Agilis Biotherapeutics, Inc., was a biotechnology company advancing an innovative gene therapy platform for rare monogenic diseases that affect the central nervous system (CNS). The company progressed their clinical trials at a remarkable pace for an ultra-rare disease. In an international collaboration led by Agilis with National Taiwan University (NTU) Hospital and the Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases (TRND) program of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) at the National Institutes of Health, Agilis’ gene therapy for aromatic l-amino acid decarboxylase deficiency (AADC), AGIL-AADC, was granted biologics license application (BLA)-ready status by the FDA in 2018, only 18 months after being licensed from NTU by Agilis.

A year long research effort on related companies led WRC to a strong relationship with Mr. Hubbard, CEO, who was the world leader in broadcasting technology. WRC was invited to invest personally and in addition delivered a world-class set of investors to the company.

Microtune (NASDAQ: TUNE) was a spin-off from Cirrus Logic (CRUS), a mainstream chip provider to PC manufacturers. The President of the Graphics Chips division was a multi-year research source for White Rock Capital (WRC). Resulting from this relationship, WRC was called to determine our interest in investing in a non-core division being spun-off from the company. WRC convinced our source to leave CRUS and become CEO of the new company that we would fund. As part of WRC’s involvement, Soros Fund management investor, Ken Langone was placed on the Board of Directors.

Microtune was a silicon and systems company specializing in radio frequency products. They provided high-performance radio frequency tuners and transceivers for devices used in the broadband communications markets which enable digital communications at a high data transfer rate. Radio frequency tuners are the gateway for the reception of video, audio, data, and/or voice by access devices over existing radio frequency broadband communications infrastructures, such as cable and land-based broadcasts received through an antenna, known as terrestrial broadcasts. Microtune invented the first TV tuner on a chip replacing a large deck of card-sized units. This product was far-along in development at the time we founded the company. In August 2000 the company was taken public by Goldman Sachs and reached a valuation of approximately $3 billion.

WRC, along with their managed accounts (including Soros Fund Management), made an investment in Hain Celestial to bolster the company’s growth within the rapidly expanding U.S. natural-food industry. Subsequently, H.J. Heinz & Co. acquired a 20% stake in Hain Celestial. This move marked Heinz’s initial entry into the $20 billion U.S. natural and organic food market, where sales were surging at an impressive rate of 15% to 18% annually. This growth far outpaced the sluggish 1% to 2% overall food sales growth during that time.