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New Release RE: Possibl Progress In Turning Hirulog into $$$
> > >(COMTEX) B: THE MEDICINES COMPANY COMPLETES $36 MILLION PRIVATE PLACE
B: THE MEDICINES COMPANY COMPLETES $36 MILLION PRIVATE PLACEMENT WITH MORGAN STANLEY VENTURE AS LEAD INVESTOR
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., and NEW YORK, Aug. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- The Medicines
Company and Morgan Stanley Venture Partners announced today the
completion of The Medicines Company's $36 million private equity
placement. The financing will be used by The Medicines Company to
support the development and commercialization of Hirulog(R), the
Company's anticoagulant for use in acute coronary settings, to develop
IS-159, the Company's therapeutic for the treatment of acute migraine
headache, and to acquire and develop additional late-stage products.
Morgan Stanley Venture Partners, the venture capital affiliate of
Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter & Co. (NYSE: MWD), served as lead investor
for this round of financing. In addition, E.M. Warburg, Pincus & Co.
Inc. and Biotech Growth S.A., a subsidiary of BB Biotech AG, the
Company's two largest shareholders, purchased 36% of the new shares
issued. Other new investors including Alta Partners, affiliates of
Moore Capital Management, and Credit Suisse Asset Management were
joined by existing investors Hanseatic Corporation and the Company's
management. BancAmerica Robertson Stephens acted as the Placement
Agent for the offering.
In connection with the financing, Fazle Husain of Morgan Stanley
Venture Partners, has joined The Medicines Company's Board of
Directors.
"We were very encouraged by the strong investor interest in The
Medicines Company. This financing will give us the resources to
continue building our product portfolio, to prepare Hirulog as an
anticoagulant for possible near- term marketing and to support further
development of both Hirulog and IS-159, our recently acquired migraine
drug," said Clive Meanwell, M.D, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive
Officer of The Medicines Company.
Dr. Meanwell added, "We are pleased to welcome Fazle Husain as a new
board member, and look forward to his contributions. Mr. Husain brings
to The Medicines Company expertise in guiding life sciences companies
into the commercial arena."
Fazle Husain of Morgan Stanley Venture Partners added, "The Medicines
Company is successfully capitalizing on a major opportunity to build
value based on in-licensing and developing late-stage pharmaceutical
products. We see strong potential in the Company's strategy and are
encouraged by their track record in developing and filing Hirulog for
U.S. and European market approval in angioplasty."
The Medicines Company selectively acquires late-stage drug candidates
for development and commercialization. The Company uses an innovative
approach to drug development, based on leveraging a core of experienced
professionals with resources at its partners Quintiles and Innovex, to
shorten timelines while implementing value-maximizing commercialization
strategies based around good medical practice. The Company acquired
exclusive worldwide rights to develop and sell its first product,
Hirulog, a specific and direct inhibitor of thrombin, from Biogen, Inc.
in 1997, and IS-159, its second product, a highly- selective 5-HT
receptor agonist for use in acute migraine, from Immunotech S.A., a
wholly owned subsidiary of Beckman Coulter, Inc., in 1998. Hirulog is
currently under regulatory review for marketing approval in the U.S.
and Europe. For more information visit The Medicines Company web site
at www.themedicinescompany.com.
SOURCE The Medicines Company
-0- 08/31/98 /CONTACT: Peyton
Marshall, Chief Financial Officer of The Medicines Company,
617-225-9099, peyton.marshall@themedco.com or Debra Abramovitz,
Principal of Morgan Stanley Venture Partners, 212-762-7770 or Melinda
Lindquist, melinda_lindquist@fkpi.com or Bruce A. Schiamberg
617-577-8110, of Feinstein Kean Partners/
/Web site: themedicinescompany.com (MWD)
CO: Medicines Company; Morgan Stanley Venture Partners ST:
Massachusetts, New York IN: MTC SU: FNC
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