Resolvyx Pharmaceuticals Raises $25 Million in Series B Financing
4/22/2008
BEDFORD, Mass. -- Resolvyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the leading resolvin therapeutics company, today announced that it has raised $25 million in a Series B financing led by funds managed by QVT Financial LP. Proceeds from the financing will be used to accelerate the development of Resolvyx’s preclinical pipeline and to advance multiple resolvin drug candidates into clinical trials in 2008. Resolvins are a recently discovered family of naturally-occurring, small molecule lipid mediators that actively resolve inflammation and can be targeted to treat a wide range of diseases, including asthma, cardiovascular disease and multiple eye diseases.
New investors QVT Financial LP, Radius Ventures, and Biogen Idec New Ventures joined existing venture investors Atlas Venture, CHL Medical Partners, and Flagship Ventures in the round. Resolvyx previously closed a $17 million Series A financing in December of 2005.
“We are excited about the growing recognition of the value of our unique resolvin platform. Attracting investors of this caliber underscores the significant progress we have made toward breakthrough drug products,†said Paul Rubin, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Resolvyx. “This funding allows us to continue to advance our resolvin therapeutic candidates, RvE1 and RX-10045, and to further evaluate additional resolvin and protectin compounds.â€
“Resolvins clearly provide a novel approach to creating a new class of therapeutics for a range of important and underserved diseases,†said Keith Manchester, M.D., Portfolio Manager at QVT Financial LP. “We believe that resolvin therapeutics have blockbuster potential to dramatically improve the way diseases are treated and that Resolvyx has a world-class drug discovery and development platform and strong management team in place to rapidly develop a portfolio of next generation therapeutics.â€
As part of the closing of this financing transaction, Keith Manchester will join the Resolvyx board of directors.
“Resolvyx combines high quality science with powerful biology to create a unique approach to treating a broad range of diseases,†said David Stoffel, M.D., partner at Radius Ventures and new observer to the Resolvyx board of directors. “We are pleased to partner with such a talented management team and quality investment syndicate to further the exciting potential of the company.â€
“We are encouraged by the positive response in the scientific community for resolvin-based therapeutics and their potential to address diseases through a new mechanism,†said Per Gjorstrup, M.D., Ph.D., co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of Resolvyx. “We look forward to validating our exciting results in pre-clinical models of asthma, atherosclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, dry eye and other diseases as we progress into clinical trials later this year.â€
About Resolvins
Resolvins are a recently discovered family of naturally-occurring, small molecule lipid mediators that can be targeted to treat a wide range of diseases. In particular, resolvins act to protect healthy tissue during an immuno-inflammatory response to infection, injury or other environmental challenge, and then act to resolve inflammation and promote healing after the environmental insult has passed. Resolvins have shown highly potent efficacy in pre-clinical models of asthma, atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, dry eye and retinal disease, among others.
Resolvins are attractive drug candidates to treat a broad range of acute and chronic diseases caused by a failure to resolve the inflammatory response and restore immune homeostasis. Such diseases include auto-immune diseases (like Crohn’s disease, psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis), allergic diseases (like asthma) and chronic inflammatory disease (like atherosclerosis, degenerative retinal diseases, chronic dry eye and Alzheimer’s disease). Resolvins offer an entirely novel biological approach to treating significant inflammatory diseases, with a decreased potential for immuno-suppression.
About Resolvyx Pharmaceuticals
Resolvyx Pharmaceuticals is a privately-held biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of resolvins, a novel class of therapies to treat inflammatory diseases and their complications. Resolvyx's drug R&D programs are focused on characterizing and developing resolvin-based compounds. With its experienced management team, world-class scientists and leading investors, Resolvyx is well-positioned to capitalize on its extensive portfolio of more than 55 patents and applications. The company's headquarters are in Bedford, Massachusetts.