Tuesday July 11, 11:30 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Sunesis Announces $60 Million Private Financing
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., July 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a
privately held biopharmaceutical company, announced today that it has completed a Series
C Preferred Stock financing totaling $60 million. Sunesis is dedicated to the discovery of
small molecule drugs for diseases treatable by interfering with undesired protein-protein interactions or enzyme activities.
CSFB Private Equity led the financing and was joined by new investors International Biotechnology Trust (managed by
Rothschild Asset Management) and Lombard Odier & Cie. Existing venture capital investors who also participated were E.M.
Warburg, Pincus & Co., LLC, Mayfield Fund, Venrock Associates, and Abingworth Management. A prestigious group of
individual investors also participated in the financing. Broadview Ltd. acted as advisor and placement agent for a portion of the
financing.
``We are very pleased with this financing in terms of the amount we raised, the quality of our high-value-added new investors,
and the strong support we received from our existing investors,'' said James Young, Ph.D., CEO of Sunesis, adding, ``We now
have the capital we need to focus our energies on becoming the leader in small molecule drug discovery for validated
protein-protein targets.'' Jim Wells, Ph.D., President and CSO of Sunesis, stated. ``The proceeds will be used to enhance our
discovery platform and apply it to several diverse targets, advance selected compounds into preclinical studies, expand our
R&D staff, and complete the construction of our new, state-of-the-art laboratory in South San Francisco.''
``Sunesis is an exciting company with a potential breakthrough technology for converting genomic discoveries into small
molecule drugs. We are delighted to participate in the growth and success of the Company. Biotech is an important investment
area for us, and we are pleased to invest in a company of Sunesis' caliber,'' said Michael Schmertzler, Managing Director and
Co-Head of CSFB Private Equity.
Founded in 1998 by Drs. James Wells and Jonathan Ellman, Sunesis is focused on the discovery and development of small
molecule therapeutics that inhibit protein-protein and enzyme targets. Sunesis' strategy is to focus initially on highly validated
targets that have an established clinical path and/or market and for which an oral product can rapidly replace an injectable
protein or monoclonal antibody product. Sunesis intends to pursue certain targets on behalf of corporate pharmaceutical
partners using its discovery technology to generate optimizable lead compounds. In addition, Sunesis will selectively pursue
other compounds and targets for internal development. CSFB Private Equity, investing since 1979, is the global private equity
arm of the Credit Suisse Group, a global financial services company. CSFB Private Equity has committed capital of
approximately $3.6 billion and has completed more than 70 investments worldwide. The firm maintains offices in New York,
London, Hong Kong, Sao Paulo and Moscow.
SOURCE: Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
