24
Jul
2010
Good stuff here. The first ~seven minutes are intro, then comes a variety of introductory concepts related to Terms in the Term Sheet. Considering these are tech investors I thought they could do a better job with displaying the spreadsheet, but that is being knit-picky. Grab a cup of yerba mate and enjoy…
Click [HERE] to view the video if reading in email or RSS.
06
May
2010
If you have not been paying attention lately, perhaps this will jar something loose…$1BILLION IN CASH GRANTS AVAILABLE FOR EMERGING LIFE SCIENCE COMPANIES aka Section 48D of the IRS code “The Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project Credit”. That get your attention? Good. The recently enacted healthcare reform legislation provides up to $1 billion in tax credits and cash grants for life sciences companies with 250 or fewer employees that have made or will make “qualified investments” in “qualifying therapeutic discovery projects” during 2009 and 2010. Credits and grants will be awarded through a competitive application process which is expected to commence on or before May 21, 2010.
A “qualifying therapeutic discovery project” is a project which is designed to develop a product, process or therapy to diagnose, treat or prevent diseases and afflictions by:
1. Conducting pre-clinical activities, clinical trials, clinical studies and research protocols, or
2. Developing technology or products designed to diagnose diseases and conditions, including molecular and companion drugs and diagnostics, or to further the delivery or administration of therapeutics.
A “qualified investment” is the aggregate amount of the costs paid or incurred in 2009 or 2010 for expenses necessary for and directly related to the conduct of a qualifying therapeutic discovery project, subject to certain limitations and exclusions. The tax credits are equal to 50 percent of the qualified investment, and taxpayers may elect to receive the credits in the form of a cash grant. Any such grant is not includable in the taxpayer’s gross income. The availability of a cash grant significantly increases the appeal of the program to companies in a loss position who may not otherwise be able to immediately utilize the credits. Furthermore, unlike the grants available under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, corporations that are majority owned by venture capital funds should be eligible for cash grants based on their qualified investments.
Companies must apply to the Secretary of the Treasury in order to obtain certification for qualified investments.
Guidance on the application process is expected to be published by the Secretary on or prior to May 21, 2010. Applications should be prepared in advance of the guidance since the aggregate amount of credits and grants available under the program is limited to $1 billion, and it is expected that the Secretary may approve eligible applications on a first-come, first-served basis. Once applications are accepted, they will be approved or denied within 30 days of submission.
For questions or assistance with the application process contact:
Michael Weiner, Partner, Dorsey & Whitney, weiner.michael@dorsey.com or
Evan Ng, Partner, Dorsey & Whitney, ng.evan@dorsey.com
06
May
2010
Contribute to the Conversation at the:
Job Creation and Entrepreneurship Forum
University of Denver, The Chambers Center, the Garden Room
Friday, May 14th, 2010
2:30 pm-5:00 pm
How do we create the jobs of the 21st century? How do we create the right environment for the next generation of entrepreneurs? Creating the companies and jobs of the 21st century will require efforts and planning, discussions, educating the work force, investment and partnerships. At this forum, we will focus on what we could do here in Colorado to create a model and perhaps co-create a blue print for creating companies and jobs.
The speakers and invited attendees come from many industries and sectors including information technology, life sciences, clean technologies, renewable fuel, aerospace, oil and gas, investment and banking. We hope that this will be the first of many gatherings where in an informal environment the stakeholders could exchange ideas.
Please RSVP shadi.farhangrazi@du.edu today if you are interested in attending.
The panel of speakers include:
- Dr. Paul Williamson, University of Montana
- Dr. Michael Artinger, Fitzsimons BioBusiness Partners
- Mr. John Paul Maxfield, Waste Farmers
- Mr. Terry Colip, CellPoint
04
May
2010
Hello Friends and Colleagues. Here is an event you are not going to want to miss. Admission is ***FREE*** but seats are limited! Please RSVP at http://GoldLabSymposium.com
2010 GoldLab Symposium Time: The Crucial Fourth Dimension of Personalized Medicine
GoldLab announces the upcoming GoldLab Inaugural Symposium 2010–Time: The Crucial Fourth Dimension of Personalized Medicine scheduled for Friday, May 14th and Saturday, May 15th 2010.
During the US healthcare deliberations, the words invention, technology, diagnostics, and wellness were mentioned rarely, if ever. No one said revolution in healthcare and yet a healthcare revolution is underway. Never before could a physician peer into the body, blood, or DNA of a patient and see the risk of disease for that person or see a disease at such an early stage that intervention might be crucial. That vision defines Personalized Medicine, which includes actionable measurements of genotype and phenotype – DNA and proteins.
For the Inaugural Symposium we have invited medical and scientific thought leaders and stakeholders to debate and inform each other and the audience. The goal is to facilitate the most timely transformation of medicine. Our motivation is simple, said Dr. Larry Gold, Professor, MCDB, University of Colorado and CEO of SomaLogic, Scientists are responsible for innovations; scientists also must participate in discussions that enable the timely use of those innovations. An informed citizenry is at the heart of an improved healthcare system.
Speakers will include, but are not limited to:
Larry Gold, Ph.D., Professor, University of Colorado and CEO, SomaLogic
Fintan Steele, Ph.D., Director of Communications, Broad Institute
Tom Cech, Ph.D., Professor, University of Colorado, former President, HHMI
Larry Lasky, Ph.D., Partner, US Venture Partners, former Genentech Fellow
Keith Gottesdiener, M.D., VP and Co-head of Late Stage Clinical Development, Merck Research Labs
William Rom, M.D., MPH, Sol and Judith Professor of Medicine, Director of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, New York University School of Medicine
Steve Williams, M.D., Ph.D., CMO, SomaLogic
George Poste, D.V.M., Ph.D., Chief Scientist, Complex Adaptive Systems Initiative Regents Professor and Del E. Webb Chair in Health Innovation Arizona State University
Jay Wohlgemuth, M.D., Vice President of Science & Innovation, Quest Diagnostics
Donald Jones, Vice President, Business Development, QUALCOMM
David Snow, CEO, Medco
Scott Danielson, Chief Experience Architect, Idea Couture Pat Furlong, Founding President and CEO, Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD)
Richard D. Lamm, Professor, Director of the Center for Public Policy & Contemporary Issues, University of Denver, former Governor of Colorado
Daniel Kracov, Partner, Arnold and Porter
David Rosenman, M.D., Mayo Clinic
Richard A. Spritz, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics and Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado, Denver
Details and to RSVP visit:
And
http://LinkedIn.GoldLabSymposium.com
http://Facebook.GoldLabSymposium.com
http://Twitter.GoldLabSymposium.com
25
Apr
2010
Hot off the press! The 1Q10 OnBioVC Trend Analysis study is available for download [HERE]; and now features OnBioIPO and OnBioM&A data too!
The 1Q10 OnBioVC Trend Analysis tracked, in aggregate, 74 biopharma, diagnostic, device, medical-IT and biofuel venture financings totaling $1,260.1M. Compared to 1Q09 OnBioVC data, this investment activity represents a decrease in the number of quarter-over-quarter financings by 10 (74 v. 84) and a decrease in quarter-over-quarter invested capital of $170.0M ($1,260.1M v. $1,430.3M).
Please feel free to share this document with peers and colleagues and do not forget to sign-up to receive OnBioVC, M&A and IPO deal updates at OnBioVC.com.
Many thanks to the wonderful sponsors who make OnBioVC possible. Show them your support!
Apredica – Preclinical ADME Tox Contract Research
Lockton – Lifescience Industry Specific Insurance Needs
BioWest – The Rocky Mountain Region Premiere Device & Biotech Conference
Regulus – A Full Spectrum of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance Solutions
Denson Group – Executive Search Working Exclusively in Med Device Manufacturing
Colorado Bioscience Association – Advocacy. Representation. Service
Freestone Group – Integrated Solutions for Emerging Life Science
San Jose BioCenter – Giving emerging companies that Big Company Advantage…
BioBeers – Where Great Minds Drink Alike…
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04
Apr
2010
So based upon the recent ruling of Myriad Genetics (NASDAQ: MYGN) invalidation of certain patents covering the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, I was planning on levering the news as fodder for an all out April Fools’ post effort, likely to have been something along the lines of ‘10,000 Gene-based Patents Overturned, Biotechnology Industry Implodes’. A little voice inside kept me from tapping out that post, and instead rather than poking fun I’ve slid to the edge of my seat to see how this plays out in the Court of Appeals. I imagine that this case will amplify in media coverage over the coming weeks and months, it appears as though this evenings edition of 60 Minutes has kicked off said coverage.
If you are reading this post in an email or RSS feed click [HERE] to watch the video.
27
Feb
2010
The 2010 Season of BioBeers kicks-off on Tuesday 2 March 6:30pm. This is not your mother’s, uncle’s, brother’s BioBeers. The format has been re-engineered with the hope that you will find attending the Meetups more valuable than ever. But it takes a village to make BioBeers, that is why I urge you to visit http://www.BioBeers.com to sign-up for notifications and importantly to RSVP to the upcoming and downstream events – and…(please) invite your friends and colleagues to sign-up at the site too.
At the new online BioBeers home you will find, among many other bells and whistles, the 2010 BioBeers schedule (each quarter an event in Boulder AND Denver will be held), as well as view who will be attending, now that is cool and injects some serious efficiencies for those of you fixated on networking, and why shouldn’t you be?
For those Life Science Deal Flow readers outside of Colorado who may be interested in establishing your own local BioBeers chapter – shoot me an email [arubenstein@rnaventures.com] and we will get you set up with your own unique URL, e.g. http://www.BioBeers.com/YourLocalGroupName and other fun stuff.
And now for the details…Come Kickoff the 2010 BioBeers Season at BioBeers – Boulder.
Twisted Pine will once again play host (directions available at http://www.BioBeers.com) Note: please arrive promptly at 6:30pm. Feel free to arrive earlier and stay later however, the formal event kicks-off at 6:30 sharp and lasts for one hour.
SCHEDULE:
6:30 – 6:35 Welcome & News Announcements
6:35 – 6:40 Speed Intros
6:40 – 6:50 Presentation and Q&A | CID4 more info below
6:50 – 7:00 Presentation and Q&A | UCBC more info below
7:00 – 7:30 BioBeers schmooze-fest
7:30 – ?:?? BioBeers specials and programming end but feel free to stick around…
ABOUT PRESENTERS:
Colorado Institute for Drug, Device and Diagnostic Development
President and CEO of CID4 Rick Duke, Ph.D. and COO of CID4 Kevin Smith will be on hand to enlighten us about the recent CID4 launch as well as the RFP to help fund Colorado technologies in the gap-stage between proof-of-concept and first in (wo)man studies.
CID4 provides management expertise to efficiently transform emerging life science technologies into commercial successes. We do this by identifying and funding potential opportunities, and by utilizing an advanced leadership team to ensure speed to market, putting new products and services to work where they are needed.
University Colorado Bioengineering Center
Robin Shandas, Ph.D. head of the Bioengineering department with a joint appointment as research professor of mechanical engineering at CU-Boulder, and serial-entrepreneur will provide details about this recently launched program.
The University of Colorado Denver announced that it will be home to the first Bioengineering Department in the state, pending Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE) approval on March 5. This new department aims to bring engineers, clinicians and medical researchers together.
SPONSORS:
Please support the entities who make our Meetups possible. Many thanks to:
- Diablo Sales
- Colorado Bioscience Association
- OnBioVC
- Biostarter Consulting
Additional sponsor opportunities still available. Reach your target demographic by partnering with BioBeers!
BioBeers | Where Great Minds Drink Alike!
14
Feb
2010
2009 OnBioVC | Year-in-Review Trend Analysis Now Available
Posted in CO Private: OnBioVC, White Papers
I am excited to release the 2009 OnBioVC Year-in-Review Trend Analysis study. It is available for free download [HERE]; the study now features OnBioIPO and OnBioM&A data too!
Bioscience venture capitalists invested $6.28 billion in 352 deals in 2009. Venture investments in 2009 represented a 3 percent increase in dollars and a 5 percent increase in deal volume from 2008. Investments in the fourth quarter of 2009 totaled $1.47 billion in 85 deals, a 13 percent decline in dollars and a 12 percent decrease in deals from the third quarter of 2009 when $1.66 billion went into 95 deals.
In a period where overall venture investments have declined to the lowest levels in more than a decade, bioscience investment activity in 2009 was less than 5 percent shy of the average annual investment totals for the last ten years. Given the challenging economic environment there was evidence of an insulated focus on continued investment in biomedical innovation. The 2009 OnBioVC Year-in-Review Trend Analysis presents details of the resilient 2009 bioscience venture capital market in addition to particulars on the thawing public markets and, information about twelve months of hyper-active biopharma M&A transactions.
Please feel free to share this document with peers and colleagues and do not forget to sign-up to receive OnBioVC, M&A and IPO updates at OnBioVC.com.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Sign up [HERE] for FREE Subscriptions to ‘Pharmaceutical Executive’ and ‘Life Science Leader’ Magazines (and other journals too!)
06
Dec
2009
I’ve elected to start aggregating more content, beyond simply my posts, on Life Science Deal Flow. The starting place is interesting white papers I come across – note the new tab at the top of the LSDF site. If you have a paper you would like reviewed and shared with the LSDF community please be certain to forward it to me at arubenstein@rnaventures.com.
We start our collection with a paper from our friends at NYC-based Thomson Reuters, a leading resource for intelligent information for businesses and professionals, download Biomarkers: An Indispensible Addition to the Drug Development Toolkit [HERE].
Biomarkers are becoming an essential part of clinical development. In this white paper, Thomson Reuters explores the role of biomarkers as evaluative tools in improving clinical research and the challenges this presents. The potential of biomarkers to improve decision making, accelerate drug development and reduce development costs is discussed with insight from experts in industry and academia.
An interesting resource to take a look at is the Thomson Reuters BIOMARKERcenter; I’m not certain what the subscription rate for access to this dBase is, nor can I think of another resource similar to this competitive intelligence offering.
Next up comes a paper from our friends at Denver, CO-based Ubiquity, a strategy and creative services company specializing in medical technology product launches, download Social Media Regulations: Not Your Father’s Media [HERE].
The current U.S. regulatory environment as it applies to social media advertising and marketing is a fluid and dynamic environment. In order to understand the current setting for social media as applied to the bioscience industry, it is useful to understand the existing regulations as they pertain to advertising and promotion. Medical devices and biologics are discussed separately, each section providing relevant regulatory background information, followed by a summary of current issues and implications for social media.
30
Nov
2009
The folks over at Deloitte are not so subtly pounding the drum about inevitable and dramatic change coming in life science sales methodologies – and are providing a rationale as to why pharma should in fact “blow up” the current sales force model. This is an important thesis to consider particularly if your entity is near enough to having an approved product in hand and ready for commercialization and the financing strategy is being architected around how best to acquire market share.
“Blow up the sales force. Replace the sales force model with something that adds more value to the process. Consider following the lead of the life insurance industry, which replaced captive sales forces with third-party agents that objectively represent multiple companies.” Deloitte Debates
Clearly the state-of-the-state is one that is undergoing some unique pressures; from impending patent expirations where approximately $60B in US drug sales will be lost between 2010-2012 (Source: Parexel Statistical Sourcebook), to the reduction of R&D productivity relative to an increase in expenditures as determined by the rise in R&D spend paired with the reduction in discovery of NME’s (Source: Parexel Statistical Sourcebook and Deloitte analysis). Add to these trends the anticipated yet amorphous health care reform; the increase in consumerism where customers are becoming more and more educated and active; a payor ecosystem undergoing a restructuring; an environment of pay for performance where treatment decisions may be increasingly influenced by quality measures; the delivery of care which is becoming more decentralized; and the accelerating march of health care related information technology innovation. These elements and beyond combine to impact the design of a go-to-market strategy.
Finite commercial resources that were once simply allocated to physicians, managed care and patients must now include planned spend on additional elements such as evidence generation, quality and clinical guidelines.
In order to build a competitive commercial market strategy it is important to:
- Recognize that influence is consolidating as the needs of customers evolve and grow increasingly interdependent
- Consider moving from a ‘Push’ to a consumer-centric model to create a dialogue, gather insights and translate customer needs into meaningful solutions
- Leverage alternative channels to redefine reach and provide information the way customers want to consume it, and
- Remain vigilant as the regulatory pendulum continues to swing and commercial practices become increasingly scrutinized
The general takeaway, courtesy of W. Scott Evangelista Principal with Deloitte, is that although companies do not necessarily need to blow up their sales forces today, a fundamental change to how products are sold is inevitable. Whether or not third-party independent representation becomes the sales model it is critical that action is taken now to become more customer-centric in the face of diminishing returns on commercial spend. Companies must put their products in a context that makes clinical sense for their customers. This requires a much deeper understanding of customers and the issues they face. Key focus areas to consider:
- Incorporate consideration for commercial implications early in product development. Collaborate early with payers and other key stakeholders to design studies and develop products, and then keep them involved throughout the product lifecycle. Enhance portfolio management to help assess the commercial viability of products in the pipeline and go/no-go decisions for moving forward. Focus on differentiated product value beyond safety and efficacy. Increase focus on health outcomes research and comparative effectiveness data to understand clinical differentiators and overall effectiveness. Incorporate focus on economic value and cost-effectiveness.
- Re-allocate resources to put more emphasis on meeting payer needs. Conduct research to gain insight about payers and appropriately segment and target key accounts. Enhance marketing and sales capabilities directed at payers. Improve the account management skills of individuals who interact directly with payers. Increase collaboration and use of payer partnerships to share risk, contain costs and create value.
- Use advanced analytics to optimize investments. Build superior data management and analytical capabilities to improve resource allocation and ROI. These advanced capabilities can be applied in a variety of ways, such as: enabling companies to better understand and optimize their marketing mix; extending physician targeting beyond top decile prescribers by incorporating other factors such as marketing mix, payer position and physician behavioral profiles; and reducing resources allocated to direct-to-physician sales and increasing the focus on non-personal promotion and new channels to boost ROI.
- Develop a more targeted approach to personal promotion. While the traditional product detail is no longer sufficient on its own nor valuable in many cases, it still has a place in the commercial toolkit. Build flexible field forces which can be leveraged across products and are deployed in a much more focused manner, based on physician preferences. These representatives can serve an important role in driving pull-through during specific inflection points in the product lifecycle such as launch and during competitive market events.
Some third-party life science sales orgs to keep an eye on include:
23
Nov
2009
Movetis | What’s a Blog to Do?
Posted in EX US - Movetis, IPO, X - GI
If you select the IPO category on the drop-down box here at LifeScienceDealFlow.com one can observe the tracking of the 2009 life science initial public offering story play out – you may also note perhaps a slight bias too, that is solely coverage of the US public markets have been delivered to date. Now Belgium-based Movetis, NV has announced a plan listing on the Euronext. So is there any rationale for excluding the Non-US companies from our IPO tracking? Bueller?…
Movetis plans to raise up to $167M priced a 11.25€ – 14.25€ or as-of today 23 Nov, where 1 Euro equals $1.49 US, a range of $16.84 – $21.33.
The Company, a 2006 spin-off from Janssen Pharmaceutica (a Johnson & Johnson company (NYSE: JNJ)), is focused on the discovery, development and commercialization drugs for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases with high unmet need. The lead product Resolor® (prucalopride) has recently received marketing approval from the European Commission for the symptomatic treatment of chronic constipation in women in whom laxatives fail to provide adequate relief. The expected launch of Resolor is 1Q10, and thus use-of-proceeds from the planned IPO will be allocated, in part, to the sales & marketing efforts.
The commercial-stage status of Movetis bodes well for a potential warm reception from investors relative to earlier-stage companies trying to come public these days.
In the US and Europe, an estimated 200 million people have some form of GI disorder, the segment has a number of disease areas where there is a high unmet medical need and this is where Movetis is focused, candidates in development address GI disorders such as severe chronic constipation, ascites, paediatric reflux, and severe forms of GI motility disorders such as refractory GORD (Gastro-Oesophageal Reflux Disease).
Movetis secured €60.8 million of funding in December 2006 from EU and US venture capital investors (Sofinnova Partners; Life Sciences Partners; Sofinnova Ventures, KBC GIMV; Quest for Growth; BIP) including €11.8 million from Johnson & Johnson. At the same time it entered into an intellectual property and rights transfer and license agreement with Johnson & Johnson that secured the rights to its current product portfolio. The Company has also received several grants totaling €3.45 million from the Flemish government as a part of collaborations with academic partners in Belgium and the Netherlands.
18
Nov
2009
Trius Therapeutics | 5 Out, 3rd in the IPO Queue
Posted in CA Private: Trius Therapeutics, IPO, X - Antibacterial, X - MRSA
San Diego, CA-based Trius Therapeutics is looking to potentially represent the eighth biopharma IPO of the year if they are able to get out in the next month or so. With five companies trading (see matrix below), Trius is queued up alongside Anthera Pharma and Aldagen in an effort to make their Wall St. debut.
Taking a look at the LSDF – Class of 2009 Biopharma IPO Performance Watch List it makes me tingly all over to see the data begin to appear ‘crowded’, and more power to these management teams for electing to lead the market out of this two-year public offering trough. However, despite the all-inclusive class-wide cumulative market cap of $11.4 billion, back out Mead Johnson (NYSE: MJN) or 20% of the 2009 IPO class and then you are looking at a remaining $2.4 billion. Back out another 20% from the class in the form of Talecris (NASDAQ: TLCR) and you are now looking at $582M in market cap spread across the three remaining classmates. Then eliminate Cumberland Pharma (NASDAQ: CPIX) and AGA Medical Holdings (NASDAQ: AGAM) and you are left with $22.7M in market cap allocated to Omeros (NASDAQ: OMER). Omeros has been off oh maybe 30% from their first day offering price of $10, at last check they were trading at $7.70 per share. So obviously a rather brutal foray for Omeros, the Street has certainly not welcomed them warmly relative to their peers. Let’s see if we can spot a trend that may illuminate some rationale driving this negative outcome, shall we?
- Mead Johnson – a commercial-stage entity
- Talecris – a commercial-stage entity
- Cumberland Pharma – a commercial-stage entity
- AGA Medical – a commercial-stage entity
- Omeros – well…NOT a commercial-stage entity rather, clinical-stage with a Phase III asset
Now, I am no regulatory guru, nor to I even try to play one in the blogosphere, but I can tell you from some accumulated scars that there is a meaningful chasm between NDA submission and market approval. Not only temporally, yeah sure assume ten-months for a PDUFA date response, but do not forget to consider the time and heavy lifting required to get the document submitted following completion of the trial – drafting the NDA is not an immaterial endeavor. That work could easily require three to six-months. And why not book-end it with FDA often requesting “something” more often than not upon their PDUFA response; make it easy here and say another three to six-months for response to the FDA response.
So when an entity is pitching out on the road-show, proudly announcing positive Phase III interim data, keep in mind that they can very easily still be two to three years away from commercialization. And in this author’s humble and unsophisticated opinion believes that the Street is no longer rewarding development and clinical-stage entities, as can be observed with Omeros relative to their class peers.
That said and turning now to Trius Therapeutics, who is yes, to my understanding, a clinical-stage entity with their most advanced asset in Phase II – one may postulate then that in today’s market there will be no record setting capital raise transpiring. What exactly does Trius have cooking…
Trius Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of innovative antibiotics for serious, life-threatening infections, who is preparing to initiate (a) Phase III clinical trial(s) for torezolid phosphate, an IV and orally administered second generation oxazolidinone, for the treatment of serious gram-positive bacterial infections, including those caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
PRODUCTS IN DEVELOPMENT
Torezolid phosphate (Phase II), a novel prodrug antibiotic, is cleaved in the blood stream to the active compound, torezolid. As a second generation oxazolidinone, torezolid phosphate shares the positive attributes of linezolid, including the availability of IV and oral dosage forms, highly efficient oral absorption, tissue penetration and distribution, and activity against MRSA. However, based on clinical and nonclinical data, it is believed that torezolid phosphate has significant potential advantages over linezolid, including the following:
- Greater Potency
- More Convenient, Shorter and Once Daily Dosing Regimen
- Bactericidal Activity In Vivo
- Activity Against Key Gram-Positive Drug-Resistant Strains and Select Atypical and Gram-Negative Bacteria
- Low Intrinsic Frequency of Resistance
- Favorable and Predictable Pharmacokinetics
- Fewer Drug-Drug Interactions
- Improved Safety Profile for Longer Term Dosing
- No other clinical-stage assets (please correct me if mistaken)
INDICATIONS AND MARKETS PURSUED
- Drug resistance is a key public health problem and also a problem for makers of branded antibacterial products. Traditional antibiotics: quinolones, cephalosporins, and penicillins, have seen their market share erode due to loss of effectiveness, while at the same time they are facing heavy generic competition. Growth is flat and in some cases, sales are declining, the total world market for antibacterial drugs, which represents almost half of the anti-infectives market (anti-fungals, anti-bacterials and anti-virals), is estimated at $24.5 billion for 2009, up 0.7% from 2008. (Source: Kalorama)
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. It may also be referred to as multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (ORSA). MRSA is resistant to a large group of antibiotics called the beta-lactams, which include the penicillins and the cephalosporins.
MRSA is especially troublesome in hospital-associated (nosocomial) infections. In hospitals, patients with open wounds, invasive devices, and weakened immune systems are at greater risk for infection than the general public. MRSA is often sub-categorized as community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA) or health care-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA) although this distinction is complex. Some have defined CA-MRSA by characteristics of patients who develop an MRSA infection while other authors have defined CA-MRSA by genetic characteristics of the bacteria themselves. The first reported cases of community-acquired MRSA began to appear in the mid-1990s from Australia, New Zealand, United States, United Kingdom, France, Finland, Canada, and Samoa. The new CA-MRSA strains have rapidly become the most common cause of cultured skin infections among individuals seeking emergency medical care in urban areas of the United States. These strains also commonly cause skin infections in athletes, prisoners and soldiers.
FINANCING (to date ~$50M, not including $27.7M NIAID contract)
The Company announced their first institutional financing in 2007, a $20M Series A round led by Sofinnova Ventures along with InterWest Partners, Prism VentureWorks and Versant Ventures. This was followed by a $30M Series B in 2008 led by Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers and new investor FinTech Global Capital along with participation from all earlier investors. Then in November of 2009 Trius announced the S-1 filing, this doc can be viewed [HERE]. The offering is led by Credit Suisse Securities, Piper Jaffray (NYSE: PJC), Canaccord Adams and JMP Securities (NYSE: JMP).
17
Nov
2009
OnBioVC.com – the sister site to Life Science Deal Flow – has released the 3Q09 Trend Analysis, the .pdf can be downloaded [HERE].
Over $1,663M flowed into early-stage biopharma, diagnostic and device companies in the third quarter of 2009 and over $4,806M year-to-date!
Headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, OnBioVC provides timely coverage and comprehensive analysis of global bioscience venture capital investment activity. At OnBioVC a free and easy to search database is provided where information queries may be indexed by therapeutic, diagnostic and medical device company, technology, indication, financing round, close date and geographic region. In addition to the web-based resource, regularly published OnBioVC Trend Analysis studies provide cumulative analytical color by month and quarter. All data aggregated at OnBioVC is also available for delivery to your inbox via a free email or RSS subscription.
If you visit OnBioVC why not sign up for free email or RSS updates and start receiving info on the most recent life science financings.
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