NGN Capital leads $32 Million
PIPE in Javelin Pharmaceuticals
New York, November 3, 2005 - NGN Capital led
a $32 million PIPE financing of Javelin Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
(JVPH.OB), which included investment funds affiliated with Wexford
Capital LLC and other high profile investors. Javelin has entered
into definitive purchase agreements in a private placement of
its common stock and warrants. Javelin is a specialty pharmaceutical
company that applies innovative proprietary delivery technologies
to develop new, improved formulations of existing drugs that target
unmet and underserved medical needs in the growing pain management
market.
Javelin has three products in late stage clinical development
or in the regulatory filing process. Dyloject™ was submitted
for European Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) in the
United Kingdom. Dyloject™ will enable clinicians in both
EU and US markets for the first time to inject diclofenac as a
bolus, because its patented formulation overcomes diclofenac’s
poor solubility. Dyloject™ is a non-selective COX inhibitor
that fills the void created by the stumbling of COX-2 inhibitors
in the acute and perioperative hospital pain management market.
“Combined with its PMI-150 (intranasal ketamine) and Rylomine™
(intranasal morphine), Javelin is building an exciting franchise
in the moderate-to-severe and breakthrough pain markets,”
commented Georg Nebgen, Managing General Partner of NGN Capital,
who will hold an observer seat on Javelin’s Board of Directors.
PMI-150, Javelin’s novel proprietary intranasal ketamine,
provided pain relief within several minutes in Phase II studies
of moderate-to-severe post-operative pain, pain associated with
orthopedic injuries, and acute-on-chronic pain, including cancer
breakthrough pain. Importantly, patients receiving PMI-150 show
little or no respiratory depression or hemodynamic disturbances.
Given the outstanding efficacy and safety characteristics of ketamine,
PMI-150 is ideally suited for trauma and breakthrough pain patients
including pediatric patients, military casualties and emergency
situations.
Rylomine™ is a novel intranasal formulation of morphine
utilizing ChiSys™, a polymer enhancing drug absorption.
The intranasal route is ideal for the rapid, non-invasive delivery
of morphine, the gold standard analgesic for moderate-to-severe
pain. Conventional oral formulations, i.e. tablets, do not provide
rapid relief. Rylomine™ is in development in the US and
Europe for the treatment of acute pain and breakthrough pain.
Javelin’s strong pipeline will be advanced by a seasoned
management team.
Dan Carr, MD, Javelin’s CEO, is a leading pain authority.
He is a Professor of Pain Research at Tufts-New England Medical
Center, and adjunct Professor of Anesthesiology and Medicine at
Tufts University School of Medicine. Dr. Carr has served as a
special consultant to US Department of Health and Human Services,
for which he drafted federal guidelines on acute and cancer pain.
He formerly served as a Director of the American Pain Society
and American Academy of Pain Medicine, and as a councilor of the
International Association for the Study of Pain.
Curtis Wright IV, MD, MPH, joined Javelin as Vice President for
Risk Management and Regulatory Affairs. Dr. Wright is a renowned
authority on clinical risk assessment. He served at the FDA from
1989 to 1997, including as Director of the Division of Anesthetics,
Analgesics, and Drug Abuse in its Center for Drug Evaluation and
Research. Since leaving government service he has held senior
positions with Adolor and Purdue Pharma.
About NGN Capital
NGN Capital is a global healthcare venture capital investment
firm with offices in New York, NY, Heidelberg, Germany, and Greenwich,
CT. 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.
More information on NGN can be found at www.ngncapital.com
Contact: John R. Costantino
+1 212-972-0077
jcostantino@ngncapital.com
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