KC Kummerfeld and Neda Safarzadeh

Arcturus Therapeutics

Rising Star in RNA Medicines Finds Innovative Bankers in Their Space

Arcturus Therapeutics is a very bright star on the biomedical horizon. The emerging company is poised to be a major player in RNA-based therapeutics, targeting individual genes to address rare diseases.

While the San Diego-based company has more than 150 patents in review, perhaps more importantly it already has strong partnerships with some of the biggest, multi-billion-dollar names in the pharmaceutical industry.

When Arcturus became public in late 2017, the finance team looked for a bank with the ability to support larger facilities over time. “It is important to us to be with a bank that can grow with us,” said Neda Safarzadeh, Director, Head of Investor Relations/Public Relations/Marketing. “We have a very big opportunity and it’s up to us to grasp it.”

Said KC Kummerfeld, Vice President of Finance and Corporate Controller, “We appreciated the very quick turn-around, the bank was right on it. They created a loan structure that was just right for us and it was fairly priced.”

For Arcturus, the bank matches its expertise in custom-creating smart banking solutions with deep sector knowledge and personalized service. Added Safarzadeh: “The people at Western Alliance's Bridge Bank are very engaged and incredibly responsive. They keep up with us and understand our sector remarkably well.”

We appreciated the very quick turn-around, the bank was right on it. They created a loan structure that was just right for us and it was fairly priced.”

KC Kummerfeld

The cool factor of Arcturus is that there are lots of drugs that only treat symptoms and don’t fix the problem. This company has the technology to address root causes.”

Rob Lake / Senior Vice President, Life Sciences
Bridge Bank