Seroba Kernel Life Sciences Confirm €18M Investment in Ospona
Dublin, Ireland. February 18, 2009: Seroba Kernel Life Sciences confirm an €18m investment in Ospona Therapeutics.
The deal is a syndicated investment with Novartis Venture Fund, Inventages Venture
Capital and Fountain Healthcare. This series ‘B’ round follows the Seroba Bioventures
lead ‘A’ round of €6.25m in February 2005.
Seamus O’Hara, Partner at Seroba Kernel Life Sciences and Non Executive Director of
Ospona since 2005 said "We have worked closely with the company since our first
investment when it was a University spin out form TCD. This series ‘B’ round, significant
both in quantum of investment and quality of international partners, is an excellent
endorsement of the company and indeed the judgment of the Seroba Kernel Life
Sciences investment team in backing this company in 2005."
Proceeds will support the advancement of Opsona‘s clinical trials targeting inflammatory
diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and transplantation. As a part of the
financing, Florent Gros, managing director at Novartis Venture Fund, and Manus Rogan
of Fountain Healthcare Partners, will now join Seamus O’Hara as Non Executive
Directors. Opsona expects to make a number of other key appointments in the corporate
and clinical areas in the coming months.
Commenting on the announcement, Dr Mark Heffernan, Chief Executive Officer of
Opsona Therapeutics, said: "Completion of this financing represents a significant
milestone in the transition of Opsona into a product-focused company delivering key
clinical development milestones. Opsona is positioned to deliver on proof of concept
studies in patients by targeting inflammatory diseases through the innate immune
system, with our ultimate aim being to uncover innovative therapies to combat diseases
having significant unmet medical need."
Opsona is developing biopharmaceutical and small molecule products which modulate
the innate immune system, which is the key trigger in the inflammation cascade in many
autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Opsona’s lead product, a fully humanised
monoclonal antibody (OPN-305) to a key toll-like receptor (TLR) target, has
demonstrated efficacy in a number of animal models and will start pivotal clinical trials in
2010.
Florent Gros, Managing Director, Novartis Venture Fund added, "We are delighted to be
working with Opsona Therapeutics and the other investors to assist Opsona in
progressing the company’s highly innovative technology and approaches towards the
clinic. The innate immune system represents a new frontier in targeting inflammatory
diseases, and the caliber of the investors in this funding round is a demonstration of
Opsona’s expertise and capabilities in this highly promising field."
Opsona has also announced the opening of a new facility in Switzerland. The Swiss
laboratory will carry out pivotal assay development and biochemical work for new
projects and therapeutics recently acquired by Opsona to expand its pipeline of
immunomodulators. The expertise that it intends to grow in Switzerland will complement
the existing team and activity in Dublin.
Dr Cormac Kilty, Chairman of Opsona and past Chairman of the Irish Bioindustry
Association explains, "This is major achievement for any biotechnology company in the
current economic climate. Opsona’s R&D shows that emerging Irish companies can
reach international recognition in biotechnology."
END
Legal Advisers for Seroba Kernel Life Sciences: A&L Goodbody
Legal Advisors for Ospona: Matheson Ormsby Prentice
Notes to Editors:
About Opsona Therapeutics
Opsona is a drug development company, focused on novel therapeutic and preventative
approaches to autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The company was founded in
2004 with three of Trinity College Dublin’s respected Immunologists (Professors Luke
O’Neill, Kingston Mills and Dermot Kelleher). The company is specifically interested in
drugs which modulate the innate immune system and its signaling, specifically Toll-Like
Receptors (TLR). Opsona has a pipeline of therapeutics in advanced pre-clinical
development which modulate the innate immune system, including biologics and small
molecules. The company has signed some significant partnering and collaborative deals,
such as with Wyeth (USA). The company is based in Dublin and also has laboratories in
Lausanne, Switzerland. www.opsona.com
About Seroba Kernel Life Sciences
Seroba Kernel is a dedicated life science venture capital fund manager with offices in
Ireland and the UK. The firm recently announced the first close of Seroba Kernel Life
Sciences Fund II with €75m in committed capital, bringing total funds under
management by the six-member team in the life science sector to over €200m. The fund
invests in European life science companies with the majority of its capital invested in
Ireland and the UK. www.seroba-kernel.com
For media queries please contact:
Seamus O’Hara
Seroba Kernel Life Sciences
Phone: +353 1 6334028
Fax: +353 1 6779388
Mobile: +353 86 2479066
www.seroba-kernel.com
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