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Activaero Closes a € 10.7 Million ($16 million) Series A Financing
Gemuenden, Germany and Dublin, Ohio (USA), October 29, 2009 – Activaero GmbH,
the leading company in the field of controlled breathing technologies for
inhaled therapeutic agents, announced today the closing of a Series A financing
totalling € 10.7 Million ($16 million). The international consortium was led by
BioMedPartners AG (advising BioMedInvest LP II) and included VI Partners AG,
Abalis Finance AG and Vesalius Biocapital I SICAR S.A.. The transaction was
advised by MedVenture Partners GmbH.
The financing enables the Company to further develop its proprietary inhalation
devices and strengthen business development activities for Activaero’s leading
controlled inhalation technologies.
“Securing venture capital support for Activaero is important for our strategy to
further increase visibility and awareness within the pharmaceutical industry and
provide superior products and technologies to our collaboration partners.
Therefore, we are delighted to have closed this financing round with such a
consortium of leading Life Sciences investors,” said Gerhard Scheuch, Chief
Executive Officer of Activaero. “The development and commercialization of our
products and technology is now securely funded going forward.”
“Activaero has an outstanding expertise and reputation in the field of
controlled inhalation. We are convinced that the strength of the unique
technology combined with the experience of the team makes Activaero a very
attractive investment and we are glad to be able to support Activaero in its
further development and commercialization stages,” commented Gerhard Ries,
General Partner at BioMedPartners.
At the same time, Gerhard Ries of BioMedPartners, Arnd Kaltofen of VI Partners,
Jean-Marie Luechinger of Abalis Finance, Christian Schneider of Vesalius
Biocapital Partners and John Patton, founder of Nektar Therapeutics, have all
joined Activaero’s Supervisory Board.
***
About Activaero GmbH
Activaero is the leading company in the field of controlled breathing
technologies for inhaled therapeutic agents. With stand alone inhalation
products and inhalation systems available for clinical trials and marketing
partnerships, Activaero’s technologies allow for the most precise and efficient
patient-tailored pulmonary delivery. Activaero currently has two products on the
market, AKITA®, a patient-tailored controlled breathing system with a smartcard
that records the patient dosing parameters, and Watchhaler™, a hand held
delivery system tailored specifically to children. The Company also has
available a range of technologies ideal for the controlled delivery of inhaled
therapeutics in the clinical trial setting and tailored to specific partnerships
(AKITA2®, LimiX™). Finally, Activaero works with partners on a consultancy basis
in the development of ideal inhaled delivery systems and the logistics in
clinical trials. Activaero’s technological approach has been validated
repeatedly in the clinical setting. The Company is privately held and located in
Gemünden (Wohra) and Munich in Germany and Dublin, Ohio in the USA.
About Abalis Finance AG
Abalis Finance AG is an independent Swiss Holding Company focused on financing
market growth of successful companies in the field of Pharmaceuticals, Life
Science and Med Tech. The company takes participations but grants under certain
circumstances credits as well. Along with the financial participation Abalis
plays an active role in the companies it supports by sharing its knowledge. The
management has a longstanding successful international experience in the
development and marketing of originator as well as generic pharmaceuticals.
Abalis Finance AG also owns and operates Abalis Pharma AG which is active in the
development, marketing and licensing of value added pharmaceutical product with
a focus on novel patentable solutions for solid dosage forms.
About BioMedPartners AG
BioMedPartners AG is a leading independent European venture capital firm,
providing private equity and mezzanine financing to early- to mid-stage
healthcare and Life Sciences companies. Since 2003, BioMedPartners has invested
in more than 30 highly innovative companies, of which five have already either
successfully completed an IPO (Arpida AG, Santhera Pharmaceuticals AG) or have
been acquired by leading pharma companies (ESBATech AG, Glycart Biotechnology
AG, Thommen Medical AG). Recently, BioMedPartners has announced the closing of
its second BioMedInvest fund (BioMedInvest LP II) with a capital of around CHF
100 million. With more than CHF 250 million in capital under management and a
strong team of experienced specialists and industry experts as well as an
extensive scientific and financial network, BioMedPartners has established
itself as one of the leading early-stage healthcare investors in Europe.
About Vesalius Biocapital Partners sàrl
Vesalius Biocapital Partners is a European venture capital firm that focuses on
the creation and growth of pan-European early-stage life science companies. The
managed Vesalius Biocapital funds invest in areas with a high unmet medical need
and a significant profit potential: new therapeutics, cutting-edge medical
devices, innovative drug delivery technologies and diagnostic tests and
instruments with a high utility level. The expertise of the team ranges from
extensive investment and exit experience to operational experience in general
management, business development, product development, IP, and finance of
start-ups and more mature life science companies. Furthermore, individual team
members have in-depth technical insights and competitive scouting experience in
the life science sector. For more information please see
www.vesaliusbiocapital.com
About VI Partners AG
VI Partners is a Swiss venture capital firm that supports university spin-offs
as well as other promising start-up companies with capital, coaching and
networks. Via the current "Venture Incubator" fund VI Partners invests "smart
money" to develop promising technology-based ideas for products and services
into successful businesses. For additional information please visit:
www.vipartners.ch
Further Information:
Axel Fischer
Managing Director
Activaero GmbH
Phone: +49 (0) 6453 64818-0
E-Mail: fischer@activaero.de
William C. Zimlich
Activaero America, Inc.
Phone: +1 (614) 761 3555
E-Mail: zimlich@activaero.com
Dr. Douglas Pretsell
Account Director, Munich Bureau Chief
College Hill
Phone: +49 (0)89 57 00 18 06
E-Mail: douglas.pretsell@collegehill.com
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