DOMANTIS RAISES US$33 (£17.5) MILLION IN SERIES B FINANCING
Funding Supports Broad Domain Antibody Therapeutic Pipeline
Cambridge, UK and US, 23 February 2004… Domantis Limited, the leading Domain Antibody (dAb) therapeutics company, announced today that it has raised US$33 (£17.5) million in a Series B financing round led by 3i Group plc (UK). Other new investors include Gray Ghost LLC (Baltimore, US), Albany Ventures (UK) and an undisclosed institutional investor from the United States. The company’s existing shareholders, MVM (UK) and Peptech Limited, the quoted Australian biotechnology company, also participated in this round.
Domantis’ CEO, Robert Connelly said ‘We are delighted to have closed one of the largest Series B rounds in Europe over the last 12 months and to have attracted such a high calibre group of international investors. The new funding will enable us to fast track our lead dAb programs into the clinic to demonstrate human efficacy, whilst building a substantial discovery, preclinical and clinical pipeline behind them.’
Domain Antibodies have broad therapeutic potential in conditions including respiratory disease, inflammation, cancer and cardiac disorders. They also support multiple product formats, such as dual targeting molecules that can hit two separate therapeutic targets in a single product. Furthermore, dAbs can be used in a variety of diverse formulation and delivery options (e.g. oral and pulmonary administration), providing more effective drugs with reduced side effects. These benefits, together with Domantis’ exclusive position in the dAb therapeutic field and the potential cost of goods advantages of these small proteins, have enabled Domantis to raise a substantial sum in a challenging investment climate.
Domantis has a unique proprietary position in dAbs, which means it is the only company capable of fully exploiting these molecules for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. At present the company has eight proprietary therapeutic programs and three partner programs with Peptech, ImClone Systems and (hope they read the smallprint...)Abbott Laboratories.
Nigel Pitchford, an Associate Director at 3i, will join Domantis’ Board Of Directors. He said ‘Domantis has the unique potential to deliver a plethora of exciting, innovative therapies with relatively low capital investment. Its strong management team, dominant proprietary position and scientific pre-eminence in the field make it an obvious investment candidate.’
Mel Bridges, Peptech Executive Chairman commented ‘We made our initial US$7 million investment in Domantis just four months after its launch. Its performance to date, including the outstanding preclinical results with our joint development dAb for rheumatoid arthritis, is further validation of our belief in this company’. Peptech invested in Domantis’ Series A financing in 2001. MVM seed financed the Company in 2000 and invested along with Peptech in 2001... |
