ACT BIOTECH ACQUIRES CLINICAL
AND EARLY STAGE ONCOLOGY
PORTFOLIO LICENSES FROM BAYER HEALTHCARE
NGN Capital leads $12 Million in Series
A First Tranche Financing
San Francisco, CA & New York, NY; May 6, 2008
– NGN Capital announced today the formation of ACT Biotech
Inc., a new company dedicated to developing and commercializing
targeted oral cancer drugs. ACT Biotech has entered into a license
agreement with Bayer HealthCare LLC for a portfolio of clinical
and early stage oncology assets. In conjunction with the agreement,
ACT has raised $12 million in the first tranche of a Series A
financing led by NGN Capital, New York. The company has also now
initiated the syndication process to raise a total of $20 million,
expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2008.
Under the terms of the license agreement with Bayer,
ACT Biotech has acquired an anti-angiogenic receptor tyrosine
kinase inhibitor entering Phase II clinical studies for colorectal
cancer, amongst other indications. An additional program in-licensed
in this agreement is a first-in-class multi-mode kinase inhibitor
in late preclinical stage with application in a variety of cancer
types. The company also acquired several additional preclinical
stage programs in oncology. As part of the agreement, Bayer will
maintain a minority equity stake in ACT Biotech.
Wolf-Dieter Busse, Ph.D., co-founder of Aerovance,
who will serve as Chief Executive Officer of ACT Biotech stated,
“We are delighted about our strong portfolio and are eager
to advance these exciting cancer drug candidates with our seasoned
management team of leading experts in cancer drug discovery and
clinical development." In addition, the company will continue
to cooperate with the Melanoma Therapeutics Foundation, which
is a co-founder in ACT Biotech. The new company will be based
in San Francisco, California.
”This license agreement allows Bayer to concentrate
on its development program for Nexavar and other primary Oncology
assets, while ACT will continue the development of promising,
earlier clinical and pre-clinical assets," said Gunnar Riemann,
Member of the Executive Committee of Bayer HealthCare.
“With this agreement ACT has obtained a collection
of novel small molecule kinase inhibitors, which have the potential
to become an integral part of a safer and more effective choice
in modern cancer combination therapy,” said Dr. Georg Nebgen,
Managing General Partner of NGN Capital. “ACT Biotech highlights
NGN’s continued commitment to attract late stage innovation
in drug development,” said John Costantino Managing General
Partner of NGN Capital.
Dr. Georg Nebgen and John Costantino of NGN Capital,
Dr. Nils Behnke of Bain &Co. and Dr. Busse will constitute
the Board of Directors of ACT Biotech. In addition, the management
team will include Dr. Ali Fattaey, Chief Operating Officer, former
Onyx VP of R&D.
About NGN Capital
NGN Capital is a global healthcare venture capital investment
firm. NGN has investment capabilities across a broad spectrum
of healthcare segments, including drug products, medical devices,
and healthcare services, with an emphasis on later-stage opportunities.
NGN has offices in New York, NY, Heidelberg, Germany, and Greenwich,
CT. More information on NGN can be found at www.ngncapital.com.
About ACT Biotech, Inc
ACT Biotech is a San Francisco-based privately-held pharmaceutical
company focused exclusively on the development and commercialization
of targeted cancer drugs.
Contacts:
For NGN Capital:
Georg Nebgen, Ph.D., Managing General Partner
John Costantino, Managing General Partner
+1 (212)-972-0077
www.ngncapital.com
For ACT Biotech:
Wolf-Dieter Busse, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer
+1 (510) 812-5782
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