Media Contact:
Pam Lord
Porter Novelli Life Sciences
619-849-6003
plord@pnlifesciences.com
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NEREUS PHARMACEUTICALS RAISES $45 MILLION IN SERIES D-2 FINANCING
SAN DIEGO, Calif., August 9, 2007 - Nereus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a
pioneer in the use of marine microbial sources for the discovery and
development of cancer therapeutics, today announced it raised $45
million from the private placement of its Series D-2 preferred
stock. In conjunction with the financing, the company named Jesper
Zeuthen, D.Sc. from Series D-2 lead investor BankInvest Biomedical
Venture of Copenhagen to the Nereus board of directors. Also joining
the board is Erich Platzer, M.D., investment advisor with HBM
Partners, advisors to HBM BioVentures in Zurich, Switzerland.
Six new investors, BankInvest, Roche Venture Fund, Astellas Venture
Management, Boston Life Science Venture Corporation, Taiwan Global
Biofund and Eminent Venture Capital Corporation joined Nereus'
current investors for this round of financing. Continuing principal
investors include HBM BioVentures, Alta Partners, Forward Ventures,
Advent International, GIMV, InterWest Partners and Pacific Venture
Group.
“Nereus impressed us with its strong management team and unique
clinical-stage, small molecule compounds that address large oncology
markets,- said Dr. Zeuthen, Managing Director of BankInvest
Biomedical Venture. -Nereus has made significant progress with
NPI-2358 and NPI-0052, two highly differentiated product candidates
that we hope will demonstrate to be superior to current cancer
therapies.
The proceeds from the financing will be drawn down in two tranches
and used to complete Phase I and begin Phase II clinical trials for
Nereus' two drug candidates. The first compound, NPI-2358, is being
evaluated for the treatment of solid tumors and lymphomas in Phase I
clinical trials. It is a potent, selective tumor vascular disrupting
agent (VDA), a class of compounds that represents a novel approach
to disrupting the intrinsic tumor blood flow, which leads to tumor
cell death. NPI-2358 has favorable preclinical characteristics, such
as a longer duration of action on tumor blood flow, activity against
multi-drug resistant tumor cell lines, and a favorable preclinical
toxicology profile. The compound is one of 200 analogues that were
produced after finding activity and novel chemistry from a marine
fungal extract.
Nereus' proteasome inhibitor NPI-0052 is in Phase I trials for solid
tumors, lymphomas and multiple myeloma. Preclinical studies indicate
that this next generation compound may be superior to Velcade®, with
broader target inhibition, faster onset of action, higher potency,
oral and intravenous availability, and activity against myeloma
cells resistant to Velcade® (bortezomib, Millennium), Thalomid®
(thalidomide, Celgene Corporation), Revlimid® (lenalidomide, Celgene
Corporation) and steroid therapy. NPI-0052 was derived from a
marine-obligate gram-positive actinomycete (Salinispora tropica).
- The funding Nereus has received from our new and current investors
will enable us to finalize safety results from our ongoing trials
and advance the programs to verify dosing regimens and obtain
initial efficacy signals, said Kobi M. Sethna, President and CEO of
Nereus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He added, Drs. Zeuthen and Platzer
join our board and worldwide syndicate of investors and advisors at
a very exciting time for the company. We welcome their expertise in
the development of cancer therapeutics as we advance our development
programs.
Dr. Zeuthen is the Managing Director of BankInvest Biomedical
Venture, which includes seven different venture funds focusing on
biotech drug development supporting more than 30 portfolio companies
in Europe and the U.S. In addition to having been Head of Research
and Development at Novo Nordisk, he was also Head of Research at the
Danish Cancer Society, and currently serves as Chairman or Director
for various biotech companies and research institutes. Dr. Zeuthen
is also an Adjunct Professor of biotechnology at the University of
Copenhagen.
Dr. Platzer is an investment advisor with HBM Partners, advisors to
HBM BioVentures in Zurich, Switzerland. Previously he was Head of
Oncology at Roche. He has over ten years of operating experience in
product development and marketing. Dr. Platzer also practiced as a
physician and researcher for numerous years and was a member of the
team that first purified G-CSF (Neupogen®, filgrastim, Amgen). He
graduated from the Medical School of the University of Erlangen,
where he also received his Ph.D. He is currently Vice Chairman of
MTM Laboratories and serves on the boards of Cylene, Locus and
ProBiodrug.
About Nereus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Nereus Pharmaceuticals pursues novel sources of chemical diversity
to discover and develop new therapeutics. Using its unmatched
expertise in marine microbiology to identify unique biologically
active compounds, the Company has placed two oncology drug
candidates in Phase I clinical trials in the past 12 months.
NPI-2358, a tumor vascular disrupting agent, is being evaluated in
patients with solid tumors and lymphomas, and the proteasome
inhibitor NPI-0052 is being developed in patients with solid tumors,
lymphomas and multiple myeloma. The Company’s discovery portfolio
also includes potential drug candidates for cancer, infectious
diseases and inflammation. For more information, visit
www.nereuspharm.com.
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Nereus Pharmaceuticals is a registered trademark of Nereus
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. All other product and company names may be
registered trademark or trademarks of their respective owners.
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