Aerovance garners $60M in VC

Berkeley, CA-based Aerovance has nailed $60 million in venture capital in its third round of financing. Aerovance will get $28 million of that up front and the rest as it hits development milestones. That is intended to be enough money to get the company's two lead products through proof-of-concept studies. Aerovance has been developing a portfolio of drugs for respiratory and inflammatory diseases. Clarus Ventures led the round with Alta Partners, Apax Partners, Lehman Brothers, NGN Capital and Burrill & Co. joining in.

"Aerovance is Clarus' first investment, an important milestone for our firm," said Nick Galakatos, a managing director of Clarus Ventures, which closed on its inaugural fund of $500 million last December. "The fundamentals of this investment align perfectly with the strategy of our firm, which is to focus on mid- to late-stage product companies that are led by outstanding management."

- here's the release for more on the round