LONDON, July 3, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- Inpharmatica, the leading informatics driven drug discovery company, is pleased to announce the completion of a successful 31.25 million British Pounds private placement. The placement, which was over-subscribed, involved some of the most respected names in the global life-science arena and is the Company's second round of institutional funding. It is anticipated that this will be the final funding round prior to Inpharmatica seeking a listing.
Inpharmatica is a structural bio-informatics company focused on providing and applying extensive protein structure-function information to target and drug discovery. This enables researchers to competitively progress each stage of the drug discovery process.
The Business is focused on two markets:
-- the growing market for bio-informatics tools and databases that
allow the genome data overload to be successfully applied in drug
discovery; and
-- the drug discovery market, via application of the Company's
technology platforms to target selection and lead
identification/optimization.
The funds raised will principally be applied in accelerating the implementation of the Company's strategy.
Specifically they will be used to:
-- establish in-house experimental drug discovery capabilities;
-- extend the Company's dual-processor Linux cluster computer farm,
already one of the largest in the world; and
-- continue development and maintenance of the Company's
Biopendium(tm) and Chematica(tm) technology platforms.
The placement was led by Dresdner Kleinwort Capital, a leading European private equity group with a transatlantic lifescience focus. Other new investors included Abingworth Management of London; Advent Venture Partners of London; Gilde Investment of The Netherlands; and Vertex Management of Singapore. Genentech Inc (NYSE:DNA), a licensee of the Biopendium proteomics information resource, has also made a strategic investment. In addition, 3i Group plc and Unibio Limited of London and GIMV of Belgium, the Company's principal investors prior to the placement, participated significantly. The fundraising was led by CSFB.
The Business is founded upon two proprietary technology platforms, Biopendium(tm) and Chematica(tm). These platforms enable the Company to both accelerate drug discovery for its customers and position itself in the drug discovery market. To date, Inpharmatica has signed collaborations with Pfizer, Genentech and Arrow Therapeutics.
Commenting on the fundraising, Patrick Banks, Finance Director of Inpharmatica, said:
"To have attracted such a large amount of money from some of the most knowledgeable investors in the lifescience industry is a significant endorsement of Inpharmatica's technology and prospects. Retaining the support of our existing shareholders is also highly encouraging.
Inpharmatica is now well placed to take further advantage of the genomic and proteomic data currently being generated. The money raised will fund our transition from being a pure information provider into a drug discovery company in our own right."
Daniel Green, Director at Dresdner Kleinwort Capital, added:
"Inpharmatica combines an ability to analyze the latest discoveries in genomics with a determination to translate that knowledge into new medicines. It is led by a team whose track record shows it knows how to do that successfully. Inpharmatica's products are in demand around the world from both pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. In short, Inpharmatica is a world class business."
Notes to Editors:
Inpharmatica: www.inpharmatica.com
Inpharmatica is the leading informatics-driven drug discovery-company. It applies information from its two platform technologies, which look at the relationships between the structure and function of proteins, to the discovery of novel drugs. Founded in 1998, Inpharmatica is based on research from Professor Janet Thornton's group at University College London. The Company utilizes large-scale computing facilities, as well as proprietary informatics technologies, to identify drug targets and subsequently the drug compounds themselves which are most likely to be successful as therapeutics.
These two integrated platform technologies, developed by Inpharmatica, assess the suitability of proteins as drug targets. They do this by predicting the function of the protein and evaluating its druggability, i.e. whether a drug molecule can be discovered for this target.
-- Biopendium(tm) - a unique target discovery resource of protein
sequence, structure and function information, allowing
Inpharmatica and its collaborators to exploit information in the
human genome;
-- Chematica(tm) - a knowledge-based chemo-informatics platform that
enables assessment of druggability and lead discovery.
Armed with knowledge of a protein's function and inherent druggability, the Company is then well placed to develop novel drug molecules against that. Inpharmatica will advance the target into drug discovery in-house and with partners.
Business Model:
-- Subscription-based collaborations to Biopendium(tm) - these are
non-exclusive subscriptions, typically running over 3 years;
signed up to date are Pfizer and Genentech;
-- Drug discovery collaborations - using Biopendium(tm) and
Chematica(tm) to select novel, druggable targets, Inpharmatica
establishes collaborations focused upon a defined target class of
therapeutic area; signed up to date is Arrow Therapeutics.
Dresdner Kleinwort Capital: www.dresdnerkc.com
Dresdner Kleinwort Capital (DrKC) is the private equity business of Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, the Investment Banking division of the Dresdner Bank Group. Dresdner Kleinwort Capital manages EUR4.71 billion in equity and mezzanine funds under direct and co-advisory management in Western and Central Europe, the US, Asia and Latin America. This scope is made possible by a network of offices located in the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland, Hungary, the US, Singapore, Hong Kong, India and Japan.
DrKC invests in three primary segments: mid-market expansion capital and buyout, venture capital and fund of funds investing. Investments are made with Dresdner Bank capital and funds committed by third parties to investment vehicles sponsored or co-sponsored by Dresdner Kleinwort Capital. In addition to direct investments DrKC also allocates capital to third party managed private equity and venture capital funds. This provides a global network of capital partners and co-investment opportunities, and has enabled DrKC to develop its own funds, fund-of-funds products and secondary products.
Abingworth: www.abingworth.com
Abingworth is an independent venture firm founded in 1973 and is a key player among life science venture capital investors on both sides of the Atlantic, having offices in London and Palo Alto. Abingworth has funds under management of over $250 million and 8 experienced professionals with operational and venture capital expertise. It has backed more than 60 life science firms, most of which have gone public or been acquired. Abingworth is a strongly science-driven organization and has the resources and approach to assist seed stage start-up companies and take them beyond the IPO stage. Since its formation in 1973, Abingworth has raised nine funds, four of which are entirely dedicated to life sciences.
Advent Venture Partners: www.adventventures.com
Advent Venture Partners, based in London, was founded in 1981 and is one of the longest established independent technology venture capitalists specializing in technology and healthcare investments in the UK and Continental Europe. Advent Venture Partners and its associates currently have total funds under management in excess of 475 million British Pounds (EUR 765 million). Advent invests between 1 million British Pounds and 15 million British Pounds in companies from start-up through to pre-flotation stage. Since 1981, the company has invested in over 150 unquoted companies in UK, Europe and the US, with some 40 going public.
Gilde Investment Management: www.gilde.nl
Netherlands-based Gilde Investment Management, founded in 1982, manages five dedicated private equity Funds totaling EUR 2 billion of committed capital. Apart from MBO's, ICT and Fund-to-Fund investments, Gilde specializes in early stage investments in Biotechnology and Nutrition via Gilde Europe Food & Agribusiness Fund (GEFAF). GEFAF was established end of 1999 and has a capitalization of EUR 125 million. The Fund focuses on Europe and the US and invests between EUR 1 and EUR 8 million in companies from start-up through to pre-IPO stage. Investors in the Fund include Rabobank, Novartis/Syngenta and the European Investment Fund.
GIMV: www.gimv.com
Since it was set up 20 years ago the investment company for Flanders (Gimv) has grown into the most important venture capitalist and business developer in Belgium and an important European and international market player. Gimv gives people the opportunity to invest in a diversified portfolio with over 250 companies, which are mostly non-listed. Gimv invests in information and communication technology, biotechnology companies and companies from other more traditional sectors, which are less susceptible to the fluctuations in the technology markets, both in Belgium and abroad. Gimv has been listed on Euronext Brussels since 1997.
3i: www.3i.com
3i Group plc is Europe's leading venture capital company. 3i invests in ambitious, growing businesses across three continents through local investment teams in Europe, Asia Pacific and the USA. It has a portfolio of investments in almost 3,000 companies, with a combined valuation of 7 billion British Pounds. 3i has been an active investor in the Healthcare sector since the early 1980s. To date 3i has made over 180 investments in the sector and also manages one of the largest quoted bioscience investment trusts in Europe. More than 35 healthcare companies backed by 3i have achieved a flotation, including Shire Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge Antibody Technology, Oxford Asymmetry, Chiroscience, Actelion, Biosearch Italia and Weston Medical.
Vertex Management: www.vertexmgt.com
Vertex Management is the venture capital arm of the Singapore Technologies Group, a multi-billion dollar conglomerate. Vertex manages over US$1billion and has been actively investing in private high-tech companies in United States, Europe and Asia since 1988. As of December 31, 2000, Vertex had invested US$710 million in 262 companies at seed to mezzanine stages of financing in various industries, including software, communications, semiconductors and life sciences. Vertex is headquartered in Singapore and has offices in the United States, UK, Denmark, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Israel.