"Hey hubby, ya know that anti-CD4? I've got an idea of what we can do with it. If we play our cards correctly, we can find a place where they've never heard of Becton Dickinson, and......"
Tuesday June 13, 1:01 am Eastern Time
Press Release
SOURCE: Genmab A/S
Genmab Completes $40.5 Million Financing
Largest Placement by a Private European Biotechnology Company
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, June 13 /CNW/ -- Genmab A/S, a biotechnology company
developing fully human antibodies, announced today that it has completed a $40.5 Million financing round from a group of
leading international investors. Index Ventures of Geneva led the financing, which included new investors Apax Europe IV and
Lombard Odier Immunology Fund, as well as existing investors BankInvest, L0nmodtagernes Dyrtidsfond, and A/S Dansk
Erhvervsinvestering. Medarex, Inc., which had previously granted Genmab a broad license to the HuMAb-Mouse©
technology in exchange for equity, also invested in this round.
This financing round is believed to be the largest ever for a private European biotechnology company, and brings Genmab's
total funding raised since inception 15 months ago to $60 Million.
The Company now has $55 Million available to accelerate the development of human antibody therapeutics. The existing
portfolio includes HuMax(TM)-CD4, which is in Phase I/II clinical trials to treat rheumatoid arthritis; HuMax-IL15, and two
antibody development programs to cancer targets, all of which are in pre-clinical development and expected to enter the clinic
within the next two years. Genmab also plans to expand this portfolio to include additional products.
"This offering strengthens Genmab considerably," said Lisa N. Drakeman, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Genmab. "Making
these resources available to our experienced development team will accelerate the development of our human antibodies and
allow Genmab to expand its already broad portfolio of therapeutic products."
Neil Rimer, General Partner at Index Ventures, said: "We are very excited by the outstanding potential of Genmab. This
company uniquely leverages the strengths of the HuMAb platform technology, into a drug development business model."
"In addition, given the skills and track record of this management team, we are convinced that Genmab is poised to be a leading
European biopharmaceutical company for the long run," said Francesco De Rubertis, Ph.D., Associate at Index Ventures.Index
Ventures is a Geneva-based venture capital fund dedicated to making equity investments in private, western European
companies targeting global markets in the fields of life sciences and information technologies. The Fund actively seeks and
selects companies exhibiting the potential for significant growth derived from products and services with global market appeal
and demonstrable, sustainable competitive advantages. The fund's consulting board is composed of world-known experts,
including board members and senior executives from first tier international corporations. The Life Sciences Advisory Board is
chaired by Marc Vasseur, founder and Chief Biology Officer at Genset. For more information about Index Ventures, visit its
web site at www.indexventures.com.
Genmab is a biotechnology company developing fully human antibody products to treat life threatening and debilitating diseases,
including cancer and chronic, inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis, where human antibodies are
expected to provide a treatment advantage. Using the HuMAb-Mouse©technology, Genmab can rapidly create high affinity
fully human antibodies instead of mouse antibodies. This transgenic mouse technology avoids the need for humanization or
complicated genetic engineering, which can be time consuming and expensive. Until recently, antibody-based products have
typically contained mouse or other animal proteins. Such antibodies have the potential to elicit allergic responses or other
complications. For more information about Genmab, visit its web site at www.genmab.com.
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements
that involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, uncertainties relating to product development, uncertainties
related to the need for regulatory approvals, dependence on proprietary technology, uncertainty of market acceptance of the
company's product candidates, uncertainties related to business opportunities, and the availability of future funding. Actual
results, events or performance may differ materially.
For further information
Lisa N. Drakeman, President and CEO of Genmab A/S, 45 33 44 77 33, or Francesco De Rubertis, Associate
of Index Ventures, 41 22 737 0028
Web site: indexventures.com |
