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Innate Pharma raises 15 million euros in intermediate financing round
Danish pharmaceutical company,
Novo Nordisk A/S, France's Quilvest and Japan's NIF Ventures join existing
investors in new round
Marseille, August 2, 2004. -
Innate Pharma SAS, a biopharmaceutical company specialized in innate immunity,
announces today that it has raised Euro 15 million in a third round of
financing. In addition to existing shareholders, the round includes two
further international investors, the Danish biopharmaceutical company, Novo
Nordisk A/S and NIF Ventures, Japan's leading venture capital firm, and
underscores the confidence placed in its innovative approach based on the
pharmacology of non-conventional lymphocyte populations (such as Natural
Killer and gamma delta T cells).
The new round will enable Innate to continue its current clinical development programs and begin developing new candidate molecules identified by its research division.
This new money means Innate has
raised more than Euro 40 million since its creation in 1999. The three new
investors have different profiles that will complement Innate Pharma's
existing investor-base: Novo Nordisk A/S is a business partner of the Company
while NIF Ventures opens up opportunities in East Asia and Quilvest brings
experience in private and public equity asset management. The existing
investors who participated in the new round are Sofinnova Partners (Paris),
Alta Partners (San Francisco), GIMV (Anvers), Auriga Partners (Paris), Axa
Private Equity (Paris), Gilde Biotech & Nutrition (Utrecht), and Innoveris
(Marseille).
"It is a source of great satisfaction to us that Innate has been able to assemble a quality group of international investors at a time when fund raising in Europe is a major challenge," said Hervé Brailly, CEO at Innate Pharma. "The arrival of a Japanese investor opens up the possibilities of developing our business in Japan, the number two market worldwide for pharmaceuticals, as well as demonstrating our appeal to international funds. Furthermore, the fact that Novo Nordisk is ready to invest in Innate a few months after concluding a partnership deal with us shows how confident it is in Innate's technology and in the team that is implementing it."
He added: "The bottom line is
that Innate Pharma can look forward to the next few years of its development
with a reassuring amount of cash - about Euro 30 million. This will be a
significant competitive advantage in the volatile markets in which
biotechnology companies operate."
About Novo Nordisk:
Novo Nordisk is a healthcare
company and a world leader in diabetes care. The company has the broadest
diabetes product portfolio in the industry, including the most advanced
products within the area of insulin delivery systems. In addition, Novo
Nordisk has a leading position within areas such as haemostasis management,
growth hormone therapy and hormone replacement therapy. Novo Nordisk
manufactures and markets pharmaceutical products and services that make a
significant difference to patients, the medical profession and society. With
headquarters in Denmark, Novo Nordisk employs approximately 18,800 full-time
employees in 69 countries, and markets its products in 179 countries. Novo
Nordisk's B shares are listed on the stock exchanges in Copenhagen and London.
Its ADRs are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol 'NVO'. For
more information, visit
www.novonordisk.com.
About NIF Ventures:
NIF Ventures is the leading
Japanese venture capital firm, investing primarily in information technology
and healthcare start-ups on a global basis. Founded in 1982, NIF currently has
approximately 1 billion dollars in capital under management. The firm is
headquartered in Tokyo and has investing offices in the United States, Taiwan,
and Singapore. With over two decades in international investing, the NIF
investment team has established a strong network of industry contacts,
enabling the firm to help its portfolio companies conduct business development
activities worldwide. For more information about NIF Ventures, visit its Web
site at www.nif.co.jp
About the Quilvest Group:
The Quilvest Group is a global
financial group with two core activities: private equity investments and
wealth/asset management. In the area of private equity, Quilvest invests in
funds as well as in direct investments, mostly in Europe and the United
States. Through Banque Privée Quilvest in Paris and Société Internationale
de Finance in Zurich, Quilvest offers attractive solutions in wealth/asset
management. For further information about Quilvest, visit www.quilvest.com.
About Innate Pharma:
Innate Pharma S.A.S., is a French
biopharmaceutical company in clinical development stage specialized in cancer
immuno-therapeutics. It is the first company to develop immuno-modulating
agents targeting non-conventional lymphocytes. The company has currently two
products in Phase I of clinical development in cancer. The company was founded
in 1999, and raised Euro 40 million in private funding since inception in
three rounds of financing. Companies investing in Innate are Novo-Nordisk
(Copenhagen), NIF (Tokyo), Quilvest (Paris), Sofinnova Partners (Paris), Alta
Partners (San Francisco), GIMV (Anvers), Auriga Partners (Paris), Axa Private
Equity (Paris), Gilde Biotech & Nutrition (Utrecht), Pechel Industries
(Paris), Innoveris (Marseille) et Inserm-Transfert (Paris). Innate Pharma has
42 employees as of July 2004. For further company information, visit www.innate-pharma.com.
--
Nicolas Isla
ANDREW LLOYD & ASSOCIATES
www.ala.com
Brighton Business Centre 95 Ditchling Road Brighton BN1 4ST ENGLAND Tel: +44-1273 675100 Fax: +44-1273 675400 55 rue Boissonade 75014 Paris FRANCE Tel: +33-1 56 54 07 00 Fax: +33-1 56 54 07 01 Eddress: Nico@ala.com INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGY MARKETS STRATEGY & COMMUNICATIONS
For further information, please
contact:
Andrew Lloyd & Associates
Ltd
Andrew Lloyd / Nicolas Isla
Tel: +44 1273 675100
Mob: +44 7803 727838
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