Staff Writer

Prestwick Pharmaceuticals Inc. brought in the first $30 million of a $60 million Series C round to advance drug candidates against central nervous system disorders.

The Washington-based firm, which has a lead candidate under FDA review to treat chorea associated with Huntington's disease, expects to receive the remaining $30 million when it meets certain undisclosed conditions. Prestwick could not be reached for comment, but the company said proceeds would be used to develop and commercialize its pipeline, starting with Xenazine.

In late March, the agency issued an approvable letter for Xenazine, and the company now is awaiting an upcoming meeting of the agency's Peripheral and Central Nervous System Advisory Committee, which is expected to review the application.

Xenazine (tetrabenazine) is a selective and reversible dopamine depletor designed to work by inhibiting vesicular monoamine transporter 2. It has fast-track and orphan drug status in the U.S. for chorea, a movement disorder caused by an excess of dopamine in the basal ganglia. (See BioWorld Today, April 3, 2006.)

Prestwick gained North American rights from UK-based Cambridge Laboratories Ltd., which markets the product in Europe. Xenazine also is approved in Canada, where it's sold by Prestwick under the brand Nitoman.

Because of its mechanism of action, Prestwick also is exploring Xenazine as a treatment for moderate to severe tardive dyskinesia. The drug has orphan status in that indication as well.

The company's second product is in development to treat Parkinson's disease, which is caused by a lack of dopamine production, rather than an excess.

Prestwick is conducting Phase III work on Lisuride, a product that already is sold in Europe in an oral formulation.

Prestwick, which licensed the product from Berlin-based NeuroBiotech GmbH, is working on two administrations - a subcutaneous infusion and a transdermal patch - to provide patients a steady level of absorption.

Behind those candidates, the company has D-Serine, a selective amino acid co-agonist for schizophrenia, and PPI-03306, a small molecule aimed at serotonin for sleep apnea. Both are in Phase II.

Prior to this financing round, the company had raised about $60 million, including a $37 million Series B in December 2004. (See BioWorld Today, Dec. 7, 2004.)

Prestwick made an attempt to go public last year, hoping to raise $75 million in an initial public offering in April 2005. But the IPO was pulled six months later due to unfavorable market conditions. (See BioWorld Today, April 26, 2005.)

The Series C was led by new investor Warburg Pincus, of New York, and managing director Stewart Hen was named to Prestwick's board.

Participation also came from several existing investors, including: Atlas Venture, of Waltham, Mass.; BA Venture Partners, of Foster City, Calif.; CNF Investments, of Bethesda, Md.; Pequot Ventures, of Menlo Park, Calif.; Sofinnova Ventures, of San Francisco; and Vivo Ventures, of Palo Alto, Calif.

In other financings news:

• Ambrx Inc., of San Diego, secured commitments for an additional $3 million in a Series C financing, which brings the company's total fund raising to $55 million. The most recent investment comes from Scottish Widows Investment Partnership. Ambrx said net proceeds would be used to expand its protein modification platform, support the development of its product pipeline and for general working capital purposes. (See BioWorld Today, July 7, 2006.)

• BioSante Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Lincolnshire, Ill., closed its previously announced $7.6 million private placement of 3.8 million shares priced at $2 each, with investors agreeing to purchase an additional 1.3 million shares for $2.75 apiece. The company expects the net proceeds of about $7.2 million to sustain operations for at least the next 12 months and be used to progress Bio-E-Gel through approval of a new drug application in menopausal symptoms. The NDA is pending regulatory review. Funds also will support Phase III trials of LibiGel in female sexual dysfunction, and for general corporate purposes. Rodman & Renshaw LLC acted as placement agent.

• Micromet Inc., of Carlsbad, Calif., entered an agreement with NGN Capital LLC to raise about $8 million in a private placement. Under the terms, Micromet is expected to sell 2.2 million shares of common stock at $3.60 per share, which marks a 7.8 percent discount to its Friday closing price. In addition, funds managed by NGN Capital will receive warrants to purchase 555,556 shares at $5 each. Net proceeds from the financing will be used for continued research and development of the company's product candidates and the relocation of its U.S. headquarters to the East Coast. Peter Johann, managing general partner of NGN, will join Micromet's board. Cowen and Co. served as the exclusive placement agent for the offering.

• Transgene SA, of Strasbourg, France, received €14.3 million (US$18 million) through the exercise of warrants leading to the issuance of 1.8 million new shares. Following the exercise of warrants, the company has cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of about €29.3 million. Transgene develops therapeutic vaccines and immunotherapeutic products in the areas of oncology and infectious disease.

• TransPharma Medical Ltd., of Lod, Israel, raised $18 million in a Series C financing led by Argonaut Private Equity. Funds will be used to advance its lead product, transdermal hPTH (1-34), which, earlier this year, showed effective delivery in the treatment of osteoporosis. Money also will support the development of additional drug products in 2007, as well as work on a new generation of transdermal drug delivery systems and scale-up production of its ViaDerm delivery. The financing included participation by new investor Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd., of Jerusalem, and existing investors: Pitango Venture Capital, Evergreen Partners, T2C2/Bio, Vitalife, Biomedical Investments and TIF Ventures Pte Ltd. Argonaut's managing director, Jason Martin, joined TransPharma's board.