Anthera Pharmaceuticals Completes $19 Million Financing; Appoints Christopher S. Henney as Chairman
August 13 2008 - 7:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
SAN MATEO, Calif., Aug. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Anthera Pharmaceuticals
Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing
anti-inflammatory drugs, today announced the completion of a $19
Million equity financing. New investors Caxton Advantage Life
Sciences Fund (New York, NY) and HBM BioCapital (Cayman Islands)
led the financing, and Rachel Leheny, Ph.D. Managing Director of
Caxton Advantage Venture Partners (the General Partner of Caxton
Advantage Life Sciences Fund) will join Anthera's Board of
Directors. The financing also included existing investors
VantagePoint Venture Partners, Sofinnova Ventures, Pappas Ventures
and Mitsubishi International Corporation. In addition, the company
announced the appointment of Christopher S. Henney as Chairman of
the Board. Dr. Henney has served as an independent director of
Anthera since 2006. Dr. Henney is a co-founder of three major
publicly held U.S. biotechnology companies: Immunex? ICOS and
Dendreon? and has been associated with the formation of several
others. Most recently Dr. Henney has served as Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer of Dendreon (NASDAQ:DNDN) and as Chairman of SGX
Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SGXP) and of Oncothyreon (NASDAQ:ONTY). "We
are delighted to have Caxton Advantage and HBM, two premier health
care funds, lead this financing," remarked President and CEO Paul
F. Truex of Anthera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. "This investment and the
ongoing support of our existing investors including VantagePoint
and Sofinnova are a clear acknowledgement of our accomplishments
and the potential of our product pipeline." "We are excited about
Anthera and its late-stage anti-inflammatory platform. We believe
the company's lead candidate, Varespladib, has demonstrated synergy
with statins and represents a potential breakthrough treatment for
people at risk for cardiovascular disease," said Rachel Leheny,
Ph.D., Managing Director of Caxton Advantage Venture Partners. "We
believe Varespladib's unique mechanism of action will lead to
improved patient outcomes and we look forward to its continued
development." In two previous clinical trials, Varespladib, a
potent inhibitor of secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2), has
demonstrated marked improvements in independent markers of
cardiovascular risk including a near complete suppression of the
target enzyme, a clinically meaningful and statistically
significant reduction in cholesterol, and a reduction in C-reactive
protein. About Anthera Pharmaceuticals Anthera Pharmaceuticals is a
privately-held company committed to developing and commercializing
clinical pharmaceutical products that address unmet medical needs
of patients with life-threatening, chronic and acute inflammatory
diseases and autoimmune disorders. The Company has acquired from
Eli Lilly and Company and Shionogi & Co.? Ltd. worldwide rights
(excluding Japan) to a series of clinical and pre-clinical
compounds that inhibit the enzymatic activity of members of the
phospholipase (PLA2) family -- a group of enzymes responsible for
the release of arachidonic acid and subsequent production of
leukotrienes? prostacyclins and other mediators of inflammation.
These highly potent compounds inhibit novel? upstream steps in the
inflammation cascade and have the potential to address a variety of
diseases. The company has also acquired exclusive and worldwide
rights to a peptide fusion protein, A-623, for the treatment of
autoimmune diseases from Amgen. For more information, please visit
http://www.anthera.com/. INVESTOR AND MEDIA CONTACT: Anne Bowdidge
(650) 218-6900 DATASOURCE: Anthera Pharmaceuticals Inc. CONTACT:
investors and media, Anne Bowdidge of Anthera Pharmaceuticals Inc.,
+1-650-218-6900, Web site: http://www.anthera.com/
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