In Biotechnology Companies: January 1998 | ||||||
I. FINANCING OF PRIVATE BIOTECHNOLOGY COMPANIES: $72.9M | ||||||
Company | Location | Date | Amt. (M) | Investors | ||
3-Dimensional | Exton, Pa. | 1/8 | $10.4 | The company raised $10.4M from BB Bio- | ||
Pharmaceuticals Inc. | tech in this self-managed financing | |||||
(4th round) | ||||||
AvMax Inc. | Berkeley, Calif. | 1/21 | $2.5 | Investors in this round included Biotech- | ||
(1st round) | nology Value Fund LP and affiliates, Four | |||||
Partners LP and Charter Ventures LP; | ||||||
under certain undisclosed terms, AvMax | ||||||
could receive an additional $10M | ||||||
Base4 | Toronto | 1/14 | $3.1 | Allelix Biopharmaceuticals Inc. formed | ||
Bioinformatics Inc. | Base4 as a subsidiary in 1996; in this round | |||||
(1st round) | of financing, the company raised | |||||
US$3.14M from a group of investors | ||||||
including BioCapital Investments LP, Tera | ||||||
Capital LP and Working Ventures Canadian | ||||||
Fund Inc.; Allelix's stake has been reduced | ||||||
to less than 50% (prices converted at a rate | ||||||
of C$1.43/US$1) | ||||||
BioMarin | Novato, Calif. | 1/27 | $10 | BioMarin Pharmaceutical was formed in | ||
Pharmaceutical Inc. | 1996 by Glyko Biomedical Ltd.; it raised | |||||
(1st round) | $10M in a series of private placements, | |||||
including $5M from BB BioVentures LP; | ||||||
also participating were Glyko Biomedical | ||||||
(which holds a 40% stake) and Grosvenor | ||||||
Capital | ||||||
Copernicus Gene | Cleveland, Ohio | 1/12 | $4.6 | This financing round was led by Biotech- | ||
Systems Inc. | nology Development Fund and included | |||||
(1st round) | GeneChem Technologies Venture Fund (in | |||||
conjunction with A.M. Pappas & Assoc- | ||||||
iates), Nina Kung Wang's Veron Interna- | ||||||
tional and the Ariane Health LDC Invest- | ||||||
ment Fund (in conjunction with Muzinich | ||||||
& Co.) | ||||||
Iconix | Mountain View, | 1/14 | $12.5 | Microcide Pharmaceuticals Inc. formed | ||
Pharmaceuticals | Calif. | Iconix as a genomics/genetics company; | ||||
Inc. (start-up financing) | Iconix raised $12.5M in equity financing | |||||
from Abingworth Management, Institution- | ||||||
al Venture Partners and Kleiner Perkins | ||||||
Caufield & Byers; Microcide has a 35% | ||||||
stake in the new company and will provide | ||||||
Iconix with additional $6.1M in R & D | ||||||
funds over 3 years in a collaboration on | ||||||
antiviral agents | ||||||
IsoTis BV (formerly | Bilthoven, | 1/8 | $2 | The financing was led by existing share- | ||
Matrix Medical BV) | Netherlands | holder Atlas Venture (which provided the | ||||
(2nd round) | company with $0.5M in 6/97) and included | |||||
new investors GIMV and 3i | ||||||
Physiome Sciences | New York | 1/12 | $10 | The company received $10M from a group | ||
Inc. (2nd round) | of institutional and private investors in a | |||||
self-managed financing; investors included | ||||||
Oxford Bioscience Partners, S.R. One. Ltd., | ||||||
INVESCO Trust Co., Hambrecht & Quist | ||||||
and Genesis Merchant Group | ||||||
Sequenom | San Diego and | 1/12 | $17.8 | Sequenom raised $17.8M through a combi- | ||
(2nd round) | Hamburg, Germany | nation of debt and equity funding; equity | ||||
participants include Lombard Odier Zur- | ||||||
ich, Ltd., Golbal Life Sciences, Dresdner | ||||||
Kleinwort Benson, S.R. One Ltd., Merifin | ||||||
Capital and a German government-affil- | ||||||
iated entity; also participating in this | ||||||
round were previous investors Techno | ||||||
Venture Management, Alpinvest Inter- | ||||||
national and Star Ventures Management | ||||||
II. MILESTONE PAYMENTS AND EQUITY INVESTMENTS FROM CORPORATE PARTNERS: $23.2M | ||||||
Company | Partner | Amt. | Triggering | Details (Date) | ||
(Symbol) | (Symbol; Country) | (M) | Event | |||
Antex Biologics | Pasteur Merieux | $0.15 | Results of | The companies signed a licensing agree- | ||
(OTC Bulletin Board: | Connaught (unit of | Phase Ia | ment in 12/94 on Antex's recombinant | |||
ANTX) | Rhone-Poulenc Group; | clinical | Haemophilus influenzae (nontypeable) | |||
France) | trial on | vaccine for treating inner ear infections | ||||
vaccine for | (otitis media) in infants and children and | |||||
ear infect- | upper respiratory disorders in the elderly; | |||||
ions | due to encouraging results of Phase Ia trial | |||||
in adults, Antex received its 2nd milestone | ||||||
payment (1/21) | ||||||
Gensia Sicor Inc. | SangStat Medical Corp. | $2.5 | Commer- | The companies signed a supply agreement | ||
(GNSA) | (SANG) | supply | in 4/97 for Gensia Sicor's commercial- | |||
agreement | scale production of bulk cyclosporine; | |||||
on bulk | SangStat bought $2.5M in Gensia Sicor | |||||
cyclospo- | stock in connection with the agreement | |||||
rine | (1/6) | |||||
Genzyme | SMI Genzyme Ltd. | $2 | Audit of | SMI Genzyme was formed in 1990 to de- | ||
Transgenics Corp. | (joint venture between | production | velop recombinant human antithrombin III | |||
(GZTC) | Genzyme Transgenics | facility for | (rhATIII) in milk of transgenic goats; SMI | |||
and Sumitomo Metals; | rhATIII | paid $2M as milestone on successful inde- | ||||
Japan) | pendent audit of the commercial-scale pro- | |||||
duction facility (1/8) | ||||||
Medarex Inc. | Xenotech LP | $7.5 | Issuance | GenPharm International Inc., which has | ||
(MEDX) | (joint venture between | of Euro- | since been acquired by Medarex, entered | |||
Cell Genesys Inc., its | pean patent | into a cross-licensing agreement on human | ||||
subsidiary Abgenix Inc. | on Meda- | monoclonal antibody technology with | ||||
and Japan Tobacco Inc.) | rex's | Xenotech in 3/97; GenPharm (Medarex) | ||||
HuMAb- | was due 2 milestones of $7.5M each as part | |||||
Mouse | of the agreement, including when Gen- | |||||
technology | Pharm's patent issued (1/12) | |||||
NeoRx Corp. | Janssen Pharmaceutica | $7 | Janssen | The companies formed a strategic alliance | ||
(NERX) | NV (Belgium; unit of | decided to | in 8/97 to develop NeoRx's Avicidin radio- | |||
Johnson & Johnson; | initiate | immunotherapy product for cancer; Janssen | ||||
NYSE:JNJ) | Phase II | decided to take the product into Phase II | ||||
trials of | trials in lung, colon and prostate cancer | |||||
Avicidin | once FDA clearance obtained; NeoRx got | |||||
$7M for this milestone (1/22) | ||||||
NovaDx | Metra Biosystems Inc. | $0.55 | First com- | The companies signed a licensing and dev- | ||
International Inc. | (MTRA) | mercial | elopment agreement in 1/96 on NovaDx's | |||
(VSE:NVN) | sales of | Chondrex blood test for arthritis; Metra is | ||||
blood test | now marketing the test and has completed | |||||
for arthritis | beta testing; Metra bought 2.57M special | |||||
warrants of NovaDx at US$0.214 each for | ||||||
total of US$0.55M; each special warrant is | ||||||
convertible into 1 common share of | ||||||
NovaDx (prices converted at rate of C$1.43/ | ||||||
US$1) (1/30) | ||||||
Pharmacopeia Inc. | Daiichi Pharmaceutical | $3 | Research | The companies entered a research collabor- | ||
(PCOP) | Co. Ltd. (Japan) | milestone | ation on use of combinatorial chemistry and | |||
high-throughput screening for drug discov- | ||||||
ery in 4/96; Pharmacopeia achieved a key | ||||||
preclinical milestone, for which Daiichi | ||||||
invested $3M in Pharmacopeia equity (1/5) | ||||||
Sugen Inc. | ASTA Medica AG | $0.5 | Joint decis- | The companies formed a strategic alliance | ||
(SUGN) | (Germany) | ion to pro- | in 12/95 to develop oncology products | |||
ceed with | based on cell signal transduction targets | |||||
clinical de- | HER-2 and Raf; the joint decision to pro- | |||||
velopment | ceed with clinical development triggered | |||||
of Pan- | ASTA's purchase of $0.5M of Sugen's | |||||
HER can- | stock (at $26.75/share) (1/14) | |||||
cer program | ||||||
III. PIPE/REG. S FINANCINGS: $0M | ||||||
There were no PIPE/Reg.S financings in January. |
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