Nice, France , October 15 2004 - TxCell, an anti-inflammatory immunotherapy specialist, announces today it has raised EUR10.5 million in a first round of financing. Five major investors - Auriga Partners, AXA Private Equity, BioAm, CDC and SPEF Venture - took part in the deal. They joined existing shareholders Inserm-Transfert and the company's founders and senior management.

The new money will finance Phase I-IIA clinical trials with the objective of demonstrating the clinical efficacy of a particular type of lymphocyte cell, Tr1 (a T-regulatory cell), when used in the treatment of serious chronic diseases caused by disorders of the immune system.

TxCell, founded in 2001 in Nice by Hervé Groux and Françoise Cottrez, has built its technology around the role of the Tr1 T-regulatory cells in maintaining the balance of the immune system. Their role was first demonstrated in 1997 by Hervé Groux (Nature 389,  737  - 742, 16 Oct 1997).

Chronic inflammation of the immune system occurs due to an imbalance between the effector cells and the regulatory cells. The role of the latter is to re-establish the balance of the immune system by stopping inflammatory reaction through the local secretion of anti-inflammatory cytokines.

The technology developed by TxCell is based upon the Tr1 regulatory cells. It represents a breakthrough compared with currently available therapies, and offers a curative rather than a palliative or symptomatic solution, as well as individualized therapy. Target diseases for TxCell are chronic inflammation of the immune system caused by Crohn's disease, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, asthma or rheumatoid polyarthritis.

"TxCell has obtained spectacular results in animal studies showing a 100 per cent rate of effectiveness and a total absence of relapse whatever the model used," said Philippe Ballero, President of TxCell. "This round of financing will enable us to manufacture Tr1 cells with the objective of entering Phase I-IIA towards the end of 2005."

"Inserm-Transfert has supported TxCell since the beginning and welcomes the arrival of new investors in the company - a development that gives a strong endorsement of TxCell's technology," said Lionel Segard, CEO of Inserm-Transfert, the private subsidiary of Inserm.

"TxCell offers the enormous potential of being able to treat many chronic debilitating diseases caused by deregulation of the immune system using its Tr1 cell based therapies," said Bernard Daugeras, general partner of Auriga Partners.

"TxCell impressed us with the science behind the project, and because of the quality, ambition and vision of the management," said Glenn Richard, Investment Manager at AXA Private Equity.


About Auriga Partners:
Auriga Partners, an independent venture capital firm, is dedicated to investing in early-stage companies in both life sciences and information technologies areas. Auriga Partners is composed of eight investors and manages EUR192 million through three funds.

For more information, www.aurigapartners.com

About AXA Private Equity:

AXA Private Equity is a capital management company with an exclusive focus on unlisted investments. It has offices in Paris , Frankfurt , London and New York , and its expertise spans each sector of private equity: LBO, venture capital, growth expansion, recovery and Primary and Secondary Funds of Funds. AXA Private Equity manages and/or advises Private Equity funds with combined assets in excess of EUR 5 billion for some of the world's leading investors. With a constant focus on transparency, performance and sustainable profitability, AXA Private Equity is supported by the expertise of its staff and its international experience. AXA Private Equity has been developing its Venture Capital arm since 1998, with the support of offices in Paris , Frankfurt , London and New York . It accompanies businesses through every stage of their development within an active partnership that accelerates growth and enhances profits. Over 40 companies with state-of-the-art technological expertise in domains such as IT and Life Sciences have invested their trust in AXA Private Equity's Venture Capital team.

For more information about AXA Private Equity, www.axaprivateequity.fr

About BioAm:

With a total commitment of EUR44 million, BioAm is a venture capital fund managed by Biogestion SA dedicated to the early-stage financing of biotech companies. BioAm's mission is to finance biotech start-ups with high growth potential coming from French life science public and private research. Biogestion SA manages two investment vehicles totalling EUR51 million. For more information about BioAm, go to www.bioam.fr

About CDC Entreprises Innovation:
CDC Entreprises Innovation is a subsidiary of CDC Entreprises, the private equity branch of the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations Group. CDC Entreprises Innovation is the venture arm of CDC Entreprises focused on early stage telecommunications, information technology and Life Sciences companies mainly in Europe .

For additional information visit www.cdcinnov.com

 
About SPEF Venture:
Active partner of companies with high growth potential, SPEF Venture has invested in innovative technology businesses since 1997. SPEF Venture manages around EUR320 million and invests in Life Sciences and Information Technology all over Europe , through 8 FCPI Banque Populaire Innovation and 2 FCPR (e-fund and pre-IPO). The SPEF Venture team and its 16 professional investors have a proven track record and deep base of knowledge in technology, entrepreneurship, operations, venture capital, and in the needs generated in a company's growth. SPEF Venture is one of the leading venture capital firms in France and a subsidiary of Natexis Private Equity, the asset management company of Natexis-Banque Populaire, which manages EUR1.8 billion in private equity investments. In life sciences, the primary sectors are biotech, pharmaceuticals, medical device and chemical/industrial biotech. Others areas of interest include investments in technology platforms, diagnostics, environment, bio-energy, skin care and services.

For more information about SPEF Venture, please visit: www.spef-venture.fr

About Inserm-Transfert:

Inserm-Transfert is the private company subsidiary of Inserm ( France 's National Institute for Health and Medical Research) and is responsible for giving a fast and flexible response to scientists and entrepreneurs needing help in creating projects. Inserm-Transfert aims to cut the time between the birth of a project and the availability to patients of proven healthcare products by providing assistance to the different players in the innovation process.

For more information in Inserm-Transfert: www.inserm-transfert.fr

About TxCell:
TxCell, Nice , France , focuses on anti-inflammatory immunotherapy. TxCell's technology is based on the use of Tr1 lymphocyte cells, implicated in the regulation of the immune system. By targeting and acting on these regulatory cells in the patient, TxCell aims to develop innovative therapies against chronic debilitating illness caused by deregulation of the immune system such as Crohn's disease, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, asthma or rheumatoid polyarthritis. In its first financing round, TxCell raised EUR 10.5 million through Auriga Partners, CDC, AXA Private Equity, SPEF Ventures and BioAm, who joined existing shareholders Inserm-Transfert and the founders, to fund entry into clinical trials I-IIA.

TxCell is headed by Philippe Ballero (President) and by Dr Hervé Groux (Chief Scientific Officer). Philippe Ballero was President of Yamanouchi Europe and of two other biotech companies, Tibotec-Virco and Proskelia, before joining TxCell in 2004.  A veterinarian by training, Dr Hervé Groux is a senior scientist at INSERM research unit 576 and director of research at the CNRS. He also worked in the United States for four years at DNAX, a subsidiary of Schering-Plough.