By E. Janene Geiss
Philadelphia, Oct. 26 - Cerimon Pharmaceuticals said Wednesday that it raised $70 million in a series A financing round and acquired the U.S. rights to sell two topical formulations of diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug.
MPM Capital was the lead investor in the venture capital transaction, along with Nomura Phase4 Ventures and OrbiMed Advisors.
The South San Francisco, Calif.-based company said it plans to use the funding to expand the company's pipeline through partnering transactions and product acquisitions.
The financing ranks as one of the largest recent series A investments in this industry, Paul Sekhri, Cerimon's president and chief executive officer, said in a company news release.
"Cerimon now has a top-tier group of investors who will work closely with the company in advancing our strategic plan," Sekhri added.
As part of the financing, Denise Pollard-Knight, head of Nomura Phase4 Ventures, an affiliate of Nomura International plc, Robert Adelman, principal of OrbiMed Advisors, and Paul Hastings, former president and chief executive officer of QLT, Inc., have joined Cerimon's board of directors. The board also includes Sekhri, Ansbert Gadicke, founding general partner of MPM Capital, and Vaughn Kailian, chairman of the board and general partner of MPM Capital.
Getting a start on the company's expanded pipeline, company officials said the acquisition of topical diclofenac formulations could fill an untapped market in the United States, where no topical anti-inflammatory is available. Currently, the diclofenac formulations acquired are marketed in Japan and other formulations are available in Europe.
Terms of the acquisition agreement were not disclosed.
Cerimon said it expects to initiate U.S. market clinical trials in 2006 for development in mild to moderate chronic pain due to arthritis. The U.S. osteoarthritis market surpassed $5 billion in the 2004, officials said.
"With greatly increased concerns about the safety of orally administered pain medications, most notably, NSAIDs and COX-2 inhibitors, we believe there is a significant patient need for topical, non-systemic formulations that reduce the overall exposure to drugs and therefore decrease the potential for adverse effects," Gary Patou, executive vice president and chief medical officer, said in the release.
| Issuer: | Cerimon Pharmaceuticals
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| Issue: | Series A financing
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| Amount: | $70 million
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| Investors: | MPM Capital (lead), Nomura Phase4 Ventures, OrbiMed Advisors
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| Announcement date: | Oct. 26
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