Sunnyvale, California - September 10, 2010 - Sorbent Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for patients requiring sodium, potassium and fluid removal, announced today that it has closed a $21.8 million Series B financing round and appointed Detlef. F. Albrecht, M.D., as President and CEO.
SERIES B FINANCING
Participants in the Series B financing round included new investor AgeChem and existing investors CMEA Capital, ARCH Venture Partners, Sofinnova Ventures, and The Dow Chemical Company through its Venture Capital group. Sorbent will use the capital to advance the clinical development of its lead drug candidate CLP-1001 for patients with sodium and fluid overload or risk for hyperkalemia in renal and cardiovascular diseases, such as End Stage Renal Disease and Congestive Heart Failure.
"I would like to thank our existing investors for their continued support, and welcome AgeChem into the fold," commented Detlef Albrecht, M.D., President and CEO of Sorbent. "This significant financing underscores the confidence our investors have in our clinical results to date and in our opportunity going forward."
Initial human clinical data in over 100 subjects show the safety and efficacy of the Sorbent platform in removing sodium and potassium from patients, as well as its potential benefit to patients with renal and cardiovascular disease.
"Sorbent's polymer technology is compelling because it is not delivered or absorbed systemically, yet it addresses fluid and ion imbalances effectively," commented Nancy Hsiung, Ph.D., a Partner at Agechem. "We look forward to working with the Sorbent management team and the other investors to progress the CLP platform through various clinical indications and toward the marketplace."
ABOUT DR. ALBRECHT
Dr. Albrecht was most recently Chief Medical Officer with Sorbent. Donald Joseph, Sorbent's founding CEO, will continue to serve on the Board of Directors.
"The promotion of Dr. Albrecht strengthens the management team so that we can take full advantage of the opportunities we have with our lead product candidate," said David Collier, M.D., a Managing Director of CMEA Capital. "His proven track record and experience in product development, company building and partnering will help facilitate the advancement of the pipeline based on the CLP technology."
Dr. Albrecht has over 20 years of experience in pre-clinical and clinical research, drug development and executive management. Prior to joining Sorbent, he has built and run R&D organizations at Ilypsa (acquired by Amgen in 2007 for $420 million) and Relypsa, where he also participated in raising over $100 million in financing. Between 1992 and 2004, he led or co-led development teams at Schwarz Pharma and ALZA that achieved two US NDAs, three supplemental US NDAs and five EU Market Authorizations for products such as Edex®, Duragesic®, Ditropan XL®, Doxil®, and Concerta,® with total global 2009 sales of well over $3 billion.
Dr. Albrecht started his medical career as a practicing physician specializing in urology and performed clinical and pre-clinical research for the diagnosis and therapy of erectile dysfunction, urologic oncology, and urinary incontinence. He holds both medical and doctorate degrees from the RWTH University in Aachen, Germany.
ABOUT SORBENT THERAPEUTICS
Sorbent Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for patients requiring targeted cation and fluid removal. The company is focused on the development of adaptable non-absorbed polymeric drugs to satisfy unmet clinical needs in large renal and cardiovascular markets such as End Stage Renal Disease, Congestive Heart Failure, Chronic Kidney Disease, and hypertension. The company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. For more information, visit www.sorbent.com.
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