Merrimack Pharmaceuticals - Top 5 VC Deals, H1 2011

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Company: Merrimack Pharmaceuticals
Based: Cambridge, MA
Amount: $77M

Investors: Credit Suisse First Boston Next Fund, Crocker Ventures, funds advised by Fred Alger Management, funds advised by Noonday Asset Management, Jennison Associates, TPG-Axon Capital and WT Investment Advisors Fund

Scoop: Merrimack was able to rake in $77 million in a Series G round in April to support its pipeline of cancer drugs and companion diagnostics. The company is using a systems biology-based approach to biomedical research, called network biology, to develop predictive computational models to better understand how their drugs interact with the diseases they're attempting to treat.

Merrimack has four oncology candidates in clinical development, with a fifth expected to begin trials later this year. Highlights include lead drug MM-398, a nanotherapeutic encapsulation of the marketed chemotherapy drug irinotecan (Pfizer's Camptosar), which recently won the FDA's orphan drug status. Merrimack also landed a high-profile partner in Sanofi to develop a Phase II ErbB3 antagonist called MM-121.

Just a few months after raising more funds, the developer announced its intention to go public with a $172.5 million initial public offering, even though many other biotechs have attempted to go public only to fall short of their financial targets. Merrimack said it needed additional capital to fund increasing expenses related to its clinical trial activities. If all goes according to plan, the company expects to trade under the symbol $MACK.

Editor's Note: The article incorrectly stated that MM-398 won fast track status rather than orphan drug status. The error has been corrected.