Pullan Consulting
Biotech Business Development Consulting
www.pullanconsulting.com and www.lindapullan.com
email: lpullan@msn.com 805-558-0361
Issue #34
Pullan's Pieces
Commentary on Science & Business of Drug Development
For Business Development & Others
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New Venture Money in the 1st Quarter of 2009
Despite the gloomy forecast of a late 2008 survey of VCs, predicting that 2009 would be worse than 2008, several new funds, totaling $2.8B, were announced in the first quarter of 2009.
VC | Funds (millions) | Purpose |
Essex Woodlands Health Ventures | $900 | Healthcare, some for drugs |
Aisling Capital | $650 | Pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, medical products, manufacturing and service companies |
Index Ventures | $438.8 | Biotechs with “lots in the pipeline” |
Atlas Ventures | $238 | IT and life sciences |
Venrock | $194 | Public and late-stage private healthcare companies |
5AM Ventures | $119 | Seed and early stage life science |
Pappas Ventures | $102 | Product focused biopharmaceuticals and medical technologies |
Google | $100 | Some for biotech |
Seroba Kernal | $97 | Early to mid-stage life science companies in Ireland and the UK |
Merck Serono | $55 | Start-up biotechs in neurodegenerative diseases, oncology, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. |
Thanks to Iguanabio.com and Fiercebiotech.com.
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VC Funding of Biotech Therapeutics, Seed and A Rounds in the 1st Quarter of 2009
There was funding of young companies in the first quarter of 2009. In my count of press releases for seed and A rounds, there is a total of ~$178M for the 14 companies ($~13M average). This is about 20% of the VC dollars for therapeutics in all rounds of financing that I found for the 1st quarter of 2009 (I found 27 financings for therapeutics at B, C, D or later rounds, averaging $27M). Most of the companies getting seed or A rounds do not yet have a clinical candidate. Two are in Phase II. Only 1 appears to be a repurposing of an existing approved molecule. Perhaps along with the newly resurgent stock market, there are signs of hope for young companies seeking funds.
Date | Company | Therapeutic Area | Types of Molecules | Focus | Raised | VCs |
3/31 | Neuraltus | CNS | Small molecules | ALS, Parkinson’s dsykinesia and Gaucher drugs | $17M | Latterall Venture Partners Vantage Point Venture Partners Adam StreetPartners |
3/24 | Actinobac Biomed | Cancer | Protein | Therapy for heme malignancies, targeting Leukocyte Function Antigen | $0.5M | Foundation Venture Capital Group |
3/16 | NKT Therapeutics | Respiratory | Antibody | Lead program targets the invariant T cell receptor to target Natural Killer T cells | $8M | SV Life Sciences MedImmune Ventures |
3/9 | Helix Therapeutics (winner Yale business plan competition) | Genetic diseases | DNA | DNA based therapeutics for DNA repair | $0.965M | Connecticut Innovations Launch Capital |
2/24 | Eiger Biopharmaceuticals | Infection | Small molecules | NS4B inhibitors for Hepatitis C | $7.1M | InterWest Partners Viva Ventures |
2/24 | Heptares |
| Small molecules | Engineering soluble stabilized forms of GPCRs | $30.6M | Clarus Ventures MVM Life Science Partners Novartis Option Fund |
2/23 | Arzeda |
| Protein | Computational enzyme design | $12M | OVP Venture Partners WRF Capital |
2/23 | Evoke Pharma | GI | Small molecule (approved drug in new formulation) | Acquisition of drugs for GI (now have a formulation of a currently approved agent in Ph 2) | $12.3M | Not disclosed |
2/19 | Genocea | Infection | Peptide | Vaccine for Chlamydia | $23M | SR One (GSK) Auriga Partners Cycad Group Alexandria Real Estate Equities Lux Capital Management Polaris Venture Partners Morningside Ventures |
2/12 | Alios | Infection | Protein | Hyperglycosylated Interferon for Hep C | $24M | Novo Ventures Novartis Ventures Roche Venture Fund |
2/9 | Esperance Pharma | Cancer | Peptides | Targeted membrane disrupting peptides | $5M | VCE Capital |
1/30 | Garnet Biotherapeutics | Wounds | Cells | Expand bone marrow cells (in Phase 2) | $10.4M | SCP Partners Safeguard Scientific Alliance Technology Ventures |
1/23 | Axikin (spin out of Actimis) | Respiratory | Small molecules | GPCR and kinase inhibitors | $3M | Sanderling Ventures Mitsui & Co. Venture Partners |
1/9 | Anaphore | Immune and Cancer | Protein | Atrimer, antibody alternatives | $25M | 5AM Ventures Versant Apposite Capital |
(based on press releases and websites)
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Client Opportunity of the Month
One of my clients, ImmunGene, offers great potential for investment and partnering. Dr. Sanjay Khare, formerly of Amgen, has established a platform of antibody fusions (gene constructs) with cytokines or chemokines to add efficacy to antibodies. The lead, IGN-002, an anti-CD20 antibody fused to interferon has some great data, showing efficacy at ~1/100TH the dose of the naked antibody, ~100x less interferon toxicity off the target, and improved survival in an animal model where Rituxan does not work. Please let me know if you’d like to learn more about this exciting company.
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Represent you at BIO’s partnering forum in Atlanta next month?
It is only a month until the big BIO meeting. I’m planning on attending and will represent a number of clients in the partnering forum. I will split the costs and only charge for the time spent representing each opportunity. It is a great chance to make many new introductions for your partnering opportunity. Let me know if you are interested. We have to hurry and get the materials posted to enable “speed-dating” introductions in the partnering forum.
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Pullan Consulting
Linda M. Pullan, Ph.D.
Biotech Business Development
www.pullanconsulting.com and www.lindapullan.com
e-mail: lpullan@msn.com
805-558-0361
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