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SYMPHOGEN'S SUCCESS IN MANUFACTURING CONSISTENT BATCHES OF POLYCLONAL ANTIBODIES FOR CLINICAL TRIALS ATTRACTS NEW USD 25 MILLION INVESTMENT Copenhagen, Denmark, 8 January , 2006: Symphogen A/S, the biotech company pioneering recombinant human polyclonal antibodies for the treatment and prevention of human disease, today announced the initial closing of a USD 25 million Series D financing at a premium to the last financing round. The financing will be used to carry out clinical trials of Symphogen’s first product, anti-RhD for the treatment of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP) and engage in additional partnerships to leverage Symphogen’s unique human polyclonal and monoclonal antibody discovery and production capabilities. The existing investors together with Takeda Research Investment, Inc. (TRI), the investment arm of Japans largest pharmaceutical company, participated in this financing round. LD Pensions provided the largest single investment in this round with significant commitments from other existing investors including, Essex Woodlands Health Ventures (USA), Scandinavian Life Science (SLS) Venture, Novo A/S, and Vaekstfonden. “Symphogen’s cutting-edge recombinant antibody technologies represent an industry breakthrough that will impact the future of antibody therapeutics in multiple disease areas including infectious diseases and cancer,” stated Graeme Martin, CEO & President of TRI. "This new financing demonstrates our continued belief that Symphogen's recombinant polyclonal human antibodies represent a truly innovative approach to treating numerous complex diseases,” said Jeppe Christiansen, Managing Director of LD Pensions. “We are particularly pleased that, in addition to the preparations for the human clinical trials for treatment of ITP, the Company has made significant progress by adding antibody programmes that target smallpox, RSV and cancer”. Commenting on this financial milestone, Kirsten Drejer, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Symphogen A/S said: “We are fortunate to have an exceptional group of international investors who have demonstrated their commitment to Symphogen. In May last year Symphogen entered into a CMO contract with Biovitrum that involves process development and production of a Rhesus D-specific human, recombinant, polyclonal antibody. It is a significant achievement that this first product, consisting of 25 distinct antibodies, has now been produced according to GMP and in sufficient amounts to commence phase I/II clinical trials”.
For
more information about Symphogen A/S please contact:
Thomas Feldthus, CFO of Symphogen A/S: +45 45 26 50 55 or +45 22 10 99 57 (cell) tf@symphogen.com Kirsten Drejer and Thomas Feldthus are both currently attending the JP Morgan conference in San Francisco and can be reached at their cell phone numbers. Web site: www.symphogen.com About Symphogen Symphogen A/S is a biotechnology company pioneering therapeutic products based on recombinant natural human antibodies for the treatment and prevention of human disease. By use of its proprietary technologies Symphogen aims to develop and eventually market unique antibody-based products with an antibody composition that mimics the diversity, affinity, and specificity of the natural human immune system. Generation of antibody drug candidates is achieved using either the SymplexTM or the SymphageTM technology. The selected lead drug candidate may be polyclonal or monoclonal, depending on the nature of the target. For development and manufacturing of polyclonal antibody drug candidates, designated symphobodies, the Company applies its proprietary expression platform, the SympressTM technology, which allows consistent manufacturing of recombinant polyclonal antibody compositions. Symphobodies offer a number of advantages over current plasma-derived immunoglobulins and monoclonal antibody therapies for the treatment of diseases characterized by complex target antigens, such as those found in infectious diseases, allergy, transplant rejection, and cancer. Collectively, Symphogen’s technologies offer best in class antibody therapeutics against both simple and complex target antigens. The commercial potential of symphobodies is expected to be very significant. About the Investors Essex Woodlands Health Ventures was founded in 1985 on the principle that focus makes for a better investment strategy. Essex invests exclusively in healthcare, and has done so for nearly two decades. From an initial fund of US $7 million, Essex has grown to manage over US $1 billion in committed capital, and continues to enjoy a track record of success in the top tier of mature venture capital funds of similar vintage. Jeff Himawan, Managing Director: +1 650 543-1555, jhimawan@ewhv.com SLS Venture, a Scandinavian-based venture capital company, is the result of the merger of the life sciences teams from the Sixth Swedish National Pension Fund, Medicon Valley Capital, and Innoventus. The fund is one of the largest in Scandinavia investing in the life sciences sector with approximately EUR 250 million under management. Martin Olin Andersen,Senior Partner: +45 32 64 81 85, martin.olin@slsventure.com Novo A/S, the holding and venture capital arm of the Novo Group with an international focus on life science, is wholly owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation. Novo A/S holds significant shareholdings in Novo Nordisk A/S (world leader in diabetes care) and Novozymes A/S (a world leader in enzymes for industrial use). Since its establishment in early 2000, Novo A/S has built a rapidly expanding portfolio of venture capital investments in pioneering companies. Martin Edwards, Partner: +45 40 21 85 32, MEd@novo.dk LD Pensions, is one of Denmark’s largest pension funds with more than US $9 billion under management, has a long-term and highly selective investment strategy. Investments made in unlisted companies are based on a fundamental analysis of the opportunity with an objective to hold the investment for a minimum of 3-5 years in order to position the company for a strategic sale or stock exchange listing. Hans Jørgen Madsen, Investment Manager: +45 33 36 89 36, hjm@ld.dk Vaekstfonden, a Danish state owned financial company operating independently in the capital markets, aims to facilitate the supply of venture capital in terms of start-up equity and high-risk loans with all financing being provided on commercial terms.
Peter Benson, Partner: +45 3529 8619/ +45
40 80 48 96, benson@vf.dk Takeda Research Investment, the corporate venture arm of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, started operations in 2002. Our aim is to encourage and support therapeutic innovation in biopharmaceutical companies and academic centers of excellence, through early stage capital investment and provision of access to the resources of a multinational pharmaceutical company. Yuji Iizawa, Senior Vice President: +1 650 328-2944, yuji.iizawa@tri-takeda.com This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that reflect the current views and/or expectations of Symphogen A/S and its investors with respect to the Company’s performance, business and future events. Such statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Actual results and events may vary significantly. |
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