PRESS RELEASE: APT Pharmaceuticals Closes New $22 Million Funding Round

APT Pharmaceuticals Closes New $22 Million Funding Round

BURLINGAME, CA - APT Pharmaceuticals, a specialty drug development company focused on effective treatments for significant unmet medical needs, announced today that it has closed a $22 million Series A-2 round of financing. New investors Versant Ventures and Great Point Partners joined existing firms Vivo Ventures and Charter Life Sciences in the round. Coinciding with the funding, Camille Samuels, Managing Director, Versant Ventures and David Kroin, Managing Director, Great Point Partners have joined the APT board.

The company, which has received a total of $30 million in funding to date, will use the new funding to advance its development pipeline which includes Pulminiq, a Phase III drug for prevention of lung transplant rejection, a novel cardioprotectant and several other projects.

APT also announced the appointment of Ralph Niven, Ph.D, as Chief Technology Officer. Dr. Niven has two decades of experience in the operations, management and technology development of biopharmaceutical companies and has worked extensively in all aspects of preclinical and early clinical development. He was formerly Senior Vice President of Preclinical Development for Discovery Labs.

"APT has all the makings of a premier drug development firm with its experienced and respected team and their keen sense for clinical unmet needs that address sound market segments," said Camille Samuels of Versant Ventures. "Also, APT has a strong, capital-efficient business model encompassing a robust therapeutic drug development strategy," added Samuels.

"We are extremely pleased with the outcome of this funding round," said Dr. Stephen Dilly, President and CEO of APT. "We have added two more high-caliber investors to our investor base and secured the resources to make major progress with our development pipeline. I am very excited to welcome Camille and David onto our Board and to have Ralph join our senior executive team. We now have the people, the products and the resources we need to build significant value over the next few years."

About APT Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

APT Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a drug development company based in Burlingame, California. APT is backed by several leading venture capital firms, including Vivo Ventures, Versant Ventures and Charter Life Sciences and by Great Point Partners, a leading healthcare investment firm. For more information, please visit www.aptbio.com.