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- Akouos
Akouos Acquisition, Valuation, Funding & Investors
Akouos was acquired by Eli Lilly for $610M in October 2022.
Akouos revenue at acquisition
$1M
Last twelve months · Oct 2022
Cumulative funding Akouos raised
$163M
across 3 funding rounds
Key investors in Akouos
New Enterprise Associates
5AM Ventures
Partners Innovation Fund
RA Capital Management
Novartis Venture Fund
Sofinnova Investments
About Akouos
Akouos is a Boston-based biotechnology firm developing precision gene therapies using adeno-associated virus vectors to restore hearing in patients with sensorineural hearing loss from genetic mutations, ototoxic drugs, or age-related causes. Acquired by Eli Lilly in 2022, its pipeline targets genetically defined populations for inner ear treatments.
Founded
2016
HQ
Website
Status
Acquired
Customer focus
B2B
Revenue model
Licensing
Revenue
$1M (Oct 2022)
Valuation
$610M (acquired Oct 2022)
Akouos Acquisition
Akouos was acquired by Eli Lilly for $610M on 18 October 2022.
Before the acquisition Akouos had raised $163M across 3 funding rounds.
| Acquirer | Date | Type | Price | EV/Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Oct 2022 | Strategic M&A | $610M | 554.5x |
Akouos Funding History
Akouos has raised a total of $163M across 3 funding rounds.
Akouos' first fundraising round was a $8M seed round in November 2017. The most recent completed round was a $105M Series B in March 2020.
Akouos funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2020 | Series B | Pivotal bioVenture Partners (lead) | $105M | Akouos is a precision genetic medicine company developing gene therapies to restore, improve, or preserve hearing, focusing on inner ear disorders using proprietary ancestral AAV vectors and minimally invasive delivery approaches. Its lead program, AK-OTOF, targets OTOF-mediated hearing loss, with plans for an IND submission to the FDA in 2021 and preliminary clinical data in 2022. On approximately March 31, 2020, Akouos raised $105 million in an oversubscribed Series B financing round led by Pivotal bioVenture Partners, with participation from new investors Cormorant Asset Management, Cowen Healthcare Investments, and Polaris Partners, as well as existing investors 5AM Ventures, NEA, Novartis Venture Fund, and Partners Innovation Fund. The proceeds were intended to advance AK-OTOF to first-in-human clinical studies and support additional preclinical programs. Three months after the Series B, in June 2020, Akouos completed an upsized initial public offering, selling 14,375,000 shares at $17.00 per share for gross proceeds of $244.4 million (net $223.8 million), providing a strong cash position of $333.0 million as of June 30, 2020. Pivotal bioVenture Partners Fund I acquired approximately 1,794,088 shares valued at around $24 million as of June 30, 2020, representing about 10% ownership based on SEC filings. The company reported increased R&D expenses in Q2 2020 due to manufacturing, preclinical studies for AK-OTOF, employee growth, and facility costs, alongside G&A expenses of $2.7 million for the quarter. |
| Aug 2018 | Series A | 5AM Ventures (lead); New Enterprise Associates (lead); Novartis Venture Fund; RA Capital Management; Sofinnova Investments; Partners Innovation Fund | $50M | Akouos, a Boston-based precision genetic medicine company, develops gene therapies using targeted adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors to restore, improve, and preserve hearing for individuals with sensorineural hearing loss, particularly monogenic forms causing profound deafness in newborns and affecting many adults over 65. Akouos originated from partnerships with Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Lonza, positioning it to address the unmet need in hearing loss treatment, where no FDA-approved therapies existed at the time. The company, founded in 2016, announced a $50 million Series A financing round on approximately January 8, 2018, led by 5AM Ventures and New Enterprise Associates, with participation from existing seed investor Partners Innovation Fund and new investors Sofinnova Investments, RA Capital Management, and Novartis Venture Fund. Funds were allocated to advance the lead program into first-in-human clinical trials and expand the pipeline. The company went public in June 2020, raising $124 million in its IPO. Total funding reached figures like $137.6M or $368M across multiple rounds, with a later round of $213M noted. |
| Nov 2017 | Seed | 5AM Ventures (lead); New Enterprise Associates (lead); Partners Innovation Fund | $8M | Akouos is a biotechnology company founded in 2017 focused on developing gene therapies to restore and preserve hearing. The company was launched by Dr. Manny Simons as a precision genetic medicine platform focused on sensorineural hearing loss, which affects approximately 360 million people worldwide with no FDA-approved therapies available. In November 2017, Akouos closed a $7.5 million seed round co-led by 5AM Ventures and New Enterprise Associates, with participation from Partners Innovation Fund. Concurrent with the financing, the company established strategic license agreements with Lonza and Massachusetts Eye and Ear for exclusive rights to the Anc-AAV gene therapy platform for all hearing and balance disorders. The company was established with a founding team including Dr. Manny Simons (CEO), Dr. Michael McKenna, Dr. William Sewell, and Dr. Luk Vandenberghe, bringing expertise in neurotology, genetics, inner ear drug delivery, and AAV gene therapy. As a newly launched company at the time of the seed round, Akouos had no disclosed revenue or EBITDA metrics. The funding was intended to support the development of the company's AAV-based gene therapy platform and advance its research programs targeting genetic forms of hearing loss. |
Who has invested in Akouos?
7 investors have backed Akouos across its funding rounds, including New Enterprise Associates, 5AM Ventures, Partners Innovation Fund, RA Capital Management, Novartis Venture Fund and Sofinnova Investments.
Lead investors include Pivotal bioVenture Partners, 5AM Ventures and New Enterprise Associates.
Akouos Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Lead | Nov 2017 | ||
| 2 | Lead | Nov 2017 | ||
| 2 | Participant | Nov 2017 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Aug 2018 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Aug 2018 | ||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all 7 Akouos investors. Start Free Trial | ||||
Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
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Start Free TrialAkouos Competitors
Akouos competitors include listed companies like Clarity Pharmaceuticals, MiMedx Group, Knight Therapeutics and Ever Supreme Bio Technology, and private ones like Geneoscopy and Galvanize Therapeutics.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private | - | - | $630M | - | ||
| Private | - | - | $650M | - | ||
| Publicly listed | $6M | ($75M) | $557M | 67.8x | ||
| Publicly listed | $419M | $78M | $684M | 1.8x | ||
| Publicly listed | $323M | $39M | $720M | 1.8x | ||
| Publicly listed | $32M | $16M | $501M | 14.6x |
Akouos Public Comps
Akouos is no longer listed, but its public comps include Scribe Therapeutics, Cormedix, Avalon Pharma, TTY Biopharm, CytomX Therapeutics, Alkaloid, Bright Minds Biosciences, Allogene Therapeutics, Crescent Biopharma and Valneva.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $51M | ($21M) | 14.2x | - | (34.0x) | - | |||
| $312M | $164M | 1.6x | 1.5x | 3.0x | - | |||
| $123M | $34M | 5.1x | 4.6x | 18.2x | 18.3x | |||
| $203M | $72M | 2.9x | 2.8x | 8.3x | - | |||
| $76M | ($21M) | 3.8x | 7.3x | (13.8x) | (3.7x) | |||
| $391M | $62M | 1.7x | - | 10.7x | - | |||
| - | ($10M) | - | - | (39.2x) | (10.0x) | |||
| - | ($197M) | - | 122.7x | (1.7x) | (1.7x) | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Akouos competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
Common questions about Akouos
| When was Akouos founded? | Akouos was founded in 2016. |
| Where is Akouos headquartered? | Akouos is headquartered in Boston, MA, United States. |
| Is Akouos publicly listed? | No, Akouos was acquired by Eli Lilly in October 2022. |
| Who acquired Akouos? | Akouos was acquired by Eli Lilly in October 2022. |
| How much was Akouos acquired for? | Akouos was acquired for $610M in October 2022. |
| How much funding has Akouos raised? | Akouos has raised $163M across 3 funding rounds. |
| What was Akouos' last funding round? | Akouos' last funding round was a $105M Series B in March 2020, led by Pivotal bioVenture Partners. |
| Who are Akouos' investors? | Akouos' investors include 5AM Ventures, New Enterprise Associates, Partners Innovation Fund, Novartis Venture Fund, RA Capital Management, Pivotal bioVenture Partners and Sofinnova Investments. |
| Which companies are comparable to Akouos? | Companies comparable to Akouos include Geneoscopy, Galvanize Therapeutics, Clarity Pharmaceuticals, MiMedx Group, Knight Therapeutics and Ever Supreme Bio Technology. |
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