investments

Biotech stocks rule--sort of

John Carroll — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 10:08:21 -0500

In light of all the dour economic news you might be surprised to learn that a small overall loss in the value of biotech investments nevertheless left the industry as the leader in performance among 12 different categories ranked by the S&P. Pictet Funds' Luxembourg-domiciled $1.8 billion Biotech fund gained 3.5 per cent, the only fund out 67 S&P Fund Services-rated global sector funds that had a positive return in the third quarter. Report

Tobacco giant plants $16M investment in Medicago

John Carroll — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 10:57:52 -0400

Canada's Medicago--which is making vaccines from tobacco--has earned a $16 million investment from tobacco giant Philip Morris. Philip Morris gains a 49.9 percent stake in the developer, along with a potential new use of tobacco that can save lives instead of threaten them. Representatives from the two companies met at a Vancouver biotech conference.

Medicago says it can develop a new avian flu vaccine using tobacco leaves for production purposes. Tobacco leaves grow quickly, offering a faster and potentially more efficient manufacturing process. A number of developers are advancing new vaccine production methods to replace the egg-based approach that is fraught with problems.

- read the Medicago release

Struengmanns to invest in German biotech firms

John Carroll — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:57:43 -0400

Twin brothers Thomas and Andreas Struengmann made a fortune selling their generic drug business back in 2005. Now they plan to invest a good bit of their money in Germany's biotech industry. In an interview with a German magazine, manager magazin, the Struengmanns outlined plans to invest 500 million euros in the country's biotech businesses. And they made it clear that they favor strong, family-owned companies to invest in. The twins already own stakes in 10 German biotechs that concentrate on new cancer therapies.

"We want to create something new, as we did with Hexal," says Thomas Struengmann.

--read the AFX report

Report: GSK to fund venture firm, back start-ups

Tue, 06 May 2008 06:59:57 -0400

In Vivo is reporting that GlaxoSmithKline plans to set aside up to $500 million for a new venture fund that will support its internal R&D work as well as fund start-ups created from de-prioritized assets. GSK President of Pharmaceuticals Russell Greig will take control of the fund June 2, according to In Vivo, relying in part on his contacts developed during his days as senior VP of world-wide business development. The GSK Venture Fund will include SR One, which has invested $550 million in 125 companies but has not sought to directly link their investments to Glaxo's work.

- check out the report from In Vivo

SPOTLIGHT: Back end deal for CrystalGenomics

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 06:59:53 -0500

CrystalGenomics/CG Pharmaceuticals announced a strategic alliance agreement with ProQuest Investments to identify and develop orally available drugs that modulate the HIF Prolyl Hydroxylase enzyme system. Under the agreement, CrystalGenomics will receive up to $6 million in upfront and initial research funding from Palkion, in addition to development and sales milestone payments of potentially more than $200 million. Release

Icagen gains $10M in equity sale to Pfizer

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 06:59:54 -0500

Icagen has triggered an option to sell $10 million worth of stock to Pfizer. That's on top of the $5 million investment Pfizer made in Icagen last summer. Pfizer gets 5.85 million shares in the Research Triangle Park-based biotech in the current option for $1.71 each. Much of the money will go to back Icagen's R&D work. Last August the two companies signed a development pact covering compounds which modulate three specific sodium ion channels as new potential treatments for pain and related disorders. The $15 million equity investment is part of $38 million in committed investments over the first two years of the agreement.

- see this release
- here's the report from the Triangle Business Journal

Related Articles:
Pfizer, Icagen ink deal. Report
Icagen shares soar on big Pfizer pact. Report
Troubled Icagen gains $22M in financing. Report

Forecast: BioPharma outsourcing will grow '08

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 06:59:54 -0500

Biotech and Big Pharma alike are taking outsourcing to new heights in 2008, according to IDC's Health Industry Insights report. This year everything from R&D to clinical trials and manufacturing will be outsourced in growing volumes to countries like Singapore, India and China, says the new forecast. Singapore in particular was lauded for its huge investments in the drug development and manufacturing field and a reputation for strong intellectual property provisions.

- see this release
- here's the report from the Birmingham Business Journal

Related Articles:
Chinese outsourcing poses new risks. Report
AstraZeneca to outsource manufacturing. Report
Eli Lilly to outsource half of research by 2010. Report

VC model raises cash for rare disease drugs

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 06:59:56 -0500

The Wall Street Journal looks at the work of Boston-based venture capitalist Roger Kitterman, who has been able to coax investors to back badly needed therapies with none of the big upside that most would demand. He set up a shell company called Bezoloven that attracted angel backing for a grape-flavored therapy for lead poisoning, a category that developers had shunned and patient advocacy groups had ignored. By keeping trial costs down, Kitterman still projects the investors can double or triple their investments. And that same model could be used to fund other research programs into rare diseases.

- read the article from the Wall Street Journal

Related Articles:
NIH budgets $71M to study rare diseases. Report
NIH expert sees new drive against rare disease. Report
Progeria trial underscores challenge of rare diseases. Report

Zosano rounds up $45M in VC

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 06:59:57 -0500

Fremont, CA-based Zosano Pharma has received $45 million in its second round, bringing its total funding thus far to $90 million. Enterprise Associates, Nomura Phase4 Ventures, HBM BioVentures and ProQuest Investments participated in the round. Zosano is developing a transdermal microprojection delivery system, a small patch and applicator that is designed as an alternative to vaccines administered with needles.

"This second closing supports our continued progress with Zosano's lead program, a PTH patch for treating osteoporosis, which is currently in Phase 2 development," said Cory Zwerling, Zosano's CEO. "Our PTH development program is on track and we are also moving other Zosano activities forward."

- see this release for more

PLUS: Woburn-MA-based BioVex has garnered $35 million in a second round of Series E financing. The company is developing biologics for the treatment and prevention of cancer and infectious disease. The money will fund BioVex's Phase III study of OncoVexGM-CSF for the treatment of melanoma as well as to complete studies in head and neck cancer and pancreatic cancer. Triathlon Medical Ventures led the round. Release

Related Articles:
BioVex raises $22M for ongoing cancer trial. Report
BioVex moving HQ to Mass. Report

Lead Therapeutics banks $17M in VC

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 06:59:54 -0500

Lead Therapeutics has pocketed $17 million in its first venture round. Much of that money will go to advance its two candidates for infectious diseases and oncology. Pappas Ventures and ProQuest Investments led the round for Lead, which plans to do most of its research in China.

"Lead Therapeutics' business strategy is designed to capitalize on the best scientific and technical resources of both China and the United States, enabling the company to more cost efficiently deliver high quality IND candidates that can currently be achieved in the West alone," said Alain Schreiber, MD, Partner at ProQuest Investments. "Moreover, by establishing R&D capabilities within China, the company will be well-positioned over time to benefit from increasing demand for China capabilities from Western pharmaceutical companies."

- check out the release for more information

Aldagen adds $9M in new venture funds

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 06:59:55 -0400

Durham, NC-based Aldagen has added $9 million in new money for its third round, bringing total investment in the Series C to $23 million. That money will be put to use developing new stem cell therapies. Aldagen was founded in 2000 and is developing programs with technology initiated at Duke University. Researchers at the company have been developing adult stem cell therapies for leukemia, damaged heart muscles and more. Its third round is expected to be enough to fund the company until mid-2009. CNF Investments and Tullis-Dickerson are now betting on the company's success.

- see Aldagen's release
- read the report from the Triangle Business Journal

Related Article:
Aldagen gains $17.3M in financing. Report

Presidio pockets $26M in second VC round

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 06:59:55 -0400

San Francisco-based Presidio Pharmaceuticals, which is focused on developing therapies for chronic viral infections, has garnered $26 million in its second round. Panorama Capital led the round with Baker Brothers Investments, Bay City Capital, Ventures West Capital, Nexus Medical Partners and others participating.

"The proceeds of this financing will be used to advance two of our programs into human clinical studies, continue establishing alliances with outside partners, and expand our product portfolio through additional in-licensing transactions," said Dr. Omar K. Haffar, president and CEO of Presidio Pharmaceuticals.

- check out the release for more info

Related Article:
The top five VC deals of the first half of 2007. List

Press Release: Medivir Announces BMS has Terminated Their Agreement for MIV-170

Maureen Martino — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 11:31:59 -0400

Medivir Announces Bristol-Myers Squibb has Terminated Their Agreement for the Development of Medivir's Preclinical Polymerase Inhibitor, MIV-170

STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Jul 6, 2007 - Regulatory News: Medivir today announced that Bristol-Myers Squibb has terminated the development of the preclinical HIV compound MIV-170. The compound did not meet the profile desired by Bristol-Myers Squibb. MIV-170 belongs to the group of polymerase inhibitors that Medivir already discontinued the development of and that are administered by the subsidiary Medivir HIV Franchise AB.

"Everyone is aware of the obvious risks in early pharmaceutical development. MIV-170 has not yet reached clinical development and statistically half of all pharmaceutical projects fail in this early pre clinical development phase. However, the license agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb has already provided Medivir with payments that by far exceed Medivir's investments in the project" said the CEO of Medivir HIV Franchise AB, professor Bo Oberg.

"The termination of this collaboration will not have any material effect on Medivir's ability to establish itself as a profitable, research based pharmaceutical company with its own regional sales force. We have intentionally refrained from continued investments in the group of compounds that MIV-170 belongs to (i.e. polymerase inhibitors). Our focus is entirely on the mature projects Hepatit C-PI (Phase I), cathepsin K (Phase I) and Lipsovir(R) (Phase III) for which we are aiming at communicating clinical data later this year" said Medivir's CEO Lars Adlersson.

Press Release: Clinquest takes stake in Enceladus

Maureen Martino — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 12:28:36 -0400

Clinquest takes stake in Enceladus

-- Investments provide boost for clinical development of Enceladus' Nanocort® --

Amsterdam, the Netherlands June 26th 2007

Enceladus Pharmaceuticals and Clinquest Group, both based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, today announce the signing of an investment and collaboration agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, Clinquest acquires a stake in Enceladus and has led a syndicate of investors to provide additional funding. Financial details are not disclosed. Enceladus will use the new funds for the ongoing clinical development of its proprietary anti-inflammatory drug Nanocort® as a treatment for active Rheumatoid Arthritis.

"The participation of Clinquest in our activities allows us to complete the phase IIa clinical proof of concept trial with Nanocort that is currently ongoing in the Netherlands. Therefore this means a major boost to our clinical development track", said Bart Metselaar, founder and CEO of Enceladus. "Furthermore, this collaboration means that we can tap into Clinquest's vast expertise in drug development and start development of Nanocort for other indications. I am particularly pleased that, as part of the deal, Clinquest's CEO Cees Wortel will be joining the Enceladus management team as acting chief medical officer. This way, we can really benefit from his longstanding experience in clinical development."

Cees Wortel, CEO of Clinquest Group, commented on the agreement: "We strongly believe in Enceladus' technology position and the promise of Nanocort. By entering in this risk-sharing arrangement, we are able to support the further development of Nanocort and the entire liposomal development platform most efficiently. "

About Enceladus Pharmaceuticals

Enceladus Pharmaceuticals is a young drug development company originating from Utrecht University, the Netherlands. Enceladus develops Nanocort®, an innovative pharmaceutical that consists of corticosteroids (anti-inflammatory agents) packaged in specifically designed small lipid vesicles. After intravenous injection, the vesicles selectively accumulate in diseased sites in the body, where they release their anti-inflammatory content. As such, Nanocort allows for target-specific corticosteroid therapy, which is expected to result in a higher efficacy and less side effects when compared with systemic corticosteroid treatment. Potential applications of Nanocort are inflammatory disorders such as Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and certain types of cancer.

Nanocort is currently Enceladus' main product. The company envisions finding inventive combinations of drugs and drug carrier systems, both of which in separate form have been previously evaluated in the clinic. Using this practical approach, Enceladus can effectively design new prototype therapeutics that require relatively straightforward clinical development tracks. The company is based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. www.enceladus.nl

About Clinquest Group

The Clinquest Group is a trusted Healthcare Product Development Organization (PDO), which offers comprehensive product development services to the bio-pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostics and medical data industries worldwide. Clinquest provides high-level strategic consulting as well as hands-on implementation services. Clinquest is recognized as a leader in the development of new, breakthrough technologies, first-in-man clinical trials and complex clinical studies. The Clinquest Group operates through three wholly-owned subsidiaries: Clinquest Inc., Clinquest Europe and Clinquest Pharmaceutical Innovations. The company is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and has offices in the USA and Singapore. www.clinquest.com

Claros gains $7.8M in first round of venture finance

Thu, 18 Jan 2007 19:01:34 -0500

Claros Diagnostics has garnered $7.8 million in its first round of financing, with much of the money earmarked for the development of its handheld diagnostic testing system. The round was led by Oxford Bioscience Partners with additional investments coming from Bioventures Investors, Accelerated Technologies Partners, and Commons Capital. Claros says its diagnostic device will enable a physician to analyze a blood sample within the time it takes for a regular office visit.

- here's the release for more information

Press Release: Forbion Capital Partners, Raises a EUR 200M Life Sciences Fund

Maureen Martino — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 12:39:05 -0500

Forbion Capital Partners, Formerly ABN AMRO Capital Life Sciences, Spins out of ABN AMRO Capital and Raises a EUR 200 M Life Sciences Fund

The Newly Formed Forbion is Comprised of the Team From ABN AMRO Capital Life Sciences With Coller Capital and ABN AMRO as Founding Investors

AMSTERDAM, January 8 -- Forbion Capital Partners (Forbion) is pleased to announce that it has spun out the life sciences venture activities of ABN AMRO Capital to form a new, independent Venture Capital group. Forbion has raised a EUR 200 M fund with ABN AMRO and Coller Capital as founding investors. ABN AMRO has a 25% shareholding in the new fund, while Coller Capital has underwritten the remainder.

The new fund, which incorporates the existing life sciences portfolio of ABN AMRO Capital valued at EUR 90 M, has substantial capacity for new investments, in addition to follow on capabilities for existing investments.

The Forbion Capital Partners management team is founded from the original ABN AMRO Capital Life Sciences team (AAC LS team). This team represents a wealth of knowledge and experience from scientific, financial and business backgrounds. Over the past seven years the Forbion team, as AAC LS, has made more than 30 investments across Europe and the US, resulting in top-quartile cash returns. During this period the members of the team have served on the Board of Directors of nearly all the portfolio companies. Recent accomplishments for the Forbion team include leading the series B EUR 40 M fundraising of Santaris Pharma, A/S as well as the EUR 22 M series A investment in Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics and the EUR 13 M series B round of PanGenetics BV.

In addition to providing finance to investee companies, the Forbion team works closely with entrepreneurs, industry experts and academic institutions to accelerate the development of its companies and to optimize value creation toward an exit.

"We are proud to have such a high quality investor as Coller Capital on board, and the continued anchor investment of ABN AMRO. Forbion Capital Partners, as an independent fund, will facilitate the expansion of our investment activities in this exciting field and thus further build on our track record gained as ABN AMRO Capital Life Sciences", says Bart Bergstein, Managing Partner of Forbion.

"We are delighted to support the Forbion team in this new and exciting phase of their development; we regard them as one of the leading life sciences groups in Europe. We look forward to working closely with them in the development of their business" says Jeremy Coller, CEO of Coller Capital.

"This transaction is part of ABN AMRO Capital's strategy to focus on mid-sized European buy-outs. Hence, while recognising Life Sciences as an interesting investment segment, the Bank has decided to change its captive position to a limited partner role. Since we have confidence in this asset class and the capabilities of the management team we remain involved as cornerstone investor in the Forbion fund. This team has a proven track record of profitable investments and we firmly believe they will be able to deliver attractive portfolio returns in the future", says Gerben Kuijper, Chairman of ABN AMRO Capital.

About Forbion Capital Partners

Forbion Capital Partners invests in EU and US Life Sciences companies with a focus on human health, developing world-class products and technologies. The Forbion team has made life sciences investments since 2000 as ABN AMRO Capital Life Sciences, the venture arm of ABN AMRO Bank NV. In December of 2006 the group became independent by broadening its investor base and changed its name to Forbion Capital Partners. Since 2000, the Forbion team has successfully divested a number of investments, leaving an active portfolio of 25 companies. Assets under management currently total over EUR 200 M. For more information, please visit www.forbion.com

About Coller Capital

Coller Capital, founded in 1990, is the leading global investor in private equity secondaries - the purchase of original investors' stakes in private equity funds (venture capital, buyout and mezzanine) and the acquisition of portfolios of companies from corporate owners/backers. The firm invests from $10 million to more than $1 billion in individual transactions.

Coller Capital is in the process of closing its latest fund, Coller International Partners V, which is expected to have commitments of approximately $4.5 billion from almost 200 international institutional investors - the largest secondaries fund in the world.

Xencor pockets $45 million in new funding round

Wed, 18 Oct 2006 20:01:34 -0400

Xencor has completed a $45 million round of investment. MedImmune Ventures, Novo Nordisk, and HealthCare Ventures all participated with existing investor Zen Investments. This brings total venture funds raised by Xencor to $130 million. Most of the most will go to its drug development programs. Xencor was a 2005 Fierce 15 winner.

- here's the report from SoCalTech

Gamida Cell garners $16M in VC

Tue, 26 Sep 2006 20:01:35 -0400

Israel's Gamida Cell $16 million dollars in a fourth round led by Israel Healthcare Ventures. Elscint Biomedical Investment, Denali Ventures, Biomedical Investments and TEVA Pharmaceuticals also participated in the round. The money will be used to expand Gamida Cell's tissue regeneration product pipeline (including a cardiac regeneration product), the planned clinical testing of the company's flagship product StemEx, and the ongoing pre-clinical development of products.

- see the release on the venture round

SPOTLIGHT: Ziopharm raises $37M in venture funds

Wed, 03 May 2006 20:01:33 -0400

Ziopharm Oncology has raised $37 million in venture capital. New investors include ProQuest Investments, LB I Group Inc. (an affiliate of Lehman Brothers), Emerging Technology Partners, Knott Partners, Panacea Asset Management, and Cycad Group. Much of the money will go to develop ZIO-101 and ZIO-201, currently in phase I/II trials for advanced myeloma and advanced sarcoma. Report

FDA's Crawford faces criminal investigation

Sun, 30 Apr 2006 20:01:39 -0400

Former FDA commissioner Lester Crawford is being investigated by a grand jury into his financial dealings with companies he regulated at the FDA. At the heart of the criminal investigation are investments either he or his wife had in companies that depended on the agency for regulatory approvals. According to news reports, Crawford's attorney has advised him to take the Fifth when testifying on the regulatory decisions he took part in while at the FDA. Crawford suddenly and mysteriously resigned last September, only months after being officially confirmed as FDA commissioner.

- read the article on Crawford from Food Consumer