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VaxInnate Secures $40 Million Series C Financing
Funds will support commercial development of novel human and
avian flu vaccines
Cranbury, NJ, October 25, 2006 – VaxInnate Corporation announced
today that it has secured $40 million in a Series C financing.
The company is developing novel, proprietary vaccines for both
pandemic and seasonal influenza based on its Toll-like receptor
(TLR) technology platform. VaxInnate’s platform has the
potential to substantially improve vaccine immunogenicity and
efficacy while greatly reducing manufacturing costs. The funds
raised will be used for the continued development of the
company’s vaccines for human and avian flu, as well as vaccines
for other prophylactic and therapeutic applications.
New Leaf Venture Partners led the round, joined by Canaan
Partners. Existing investors HealthCare Ventures, Oxford
Bioscience Partners LLC, MedImmune Ventures, Inc., and CHL
Medical Partners also participated in this round.
The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports
that about five to twenty percent of the U.S. population
contracts influenza each year. Of those people, more than
200,000 are hospitalized from flu complications and 25,000 to
50,000 die from the flu in a typical winter’s flu season.
Emerging threats of pandemic flu reinforce the need for
technology that enables a robust, quick response. VaxInnate will
use its TLR technology platform to produce vaccines by simple,
low-cost, highly-scalable recombinant DNA techniques, avoiding
the pitfalls of egg-based or cell-culture influenza vaccine
production. The company’s TLR technology enhances the
immunogenicity of a series of antigens, which can be combined
into a number of different influenza products.
“Influenza is one of the most communicable types of diseases,
and yet one of the most challenging to prepare for on a large
scale - due to both the variability of strains and the
protracted manufacturing cycle. Our TLR technology platform
offers a highly efficient and effective way to address both of
these key issues, while enhancing vaccine potency and
immunogenicity,” said Alan Shaw, President and CEO of VaxInnate.
“We’ve been fortunate to attract excellent investors and a lot
of interest in VaxInnate as part of this process. The additional
funding will help us to continue advancing our human and avian
flu vaccine candidates to market in the coming years, and
support the development of other promising vaccine applications
based on our proprietary technology.”
Philippe Chambon MD. PhD., Managing Director of New Leaf Venture
Partners, stated, “VaxInnate combines a paradigm-shifting
vaccine technology platform with a seasoned management team that
has direct experience in successfully developing and bringing
vaccines to market. The company has a broad pipeline of
influenza and other vaccine products, which we believe will have
a significant impact on public health.”
Seth Rudnick, General Partner of Canaan Partners, continued by
saying, “This is an opportune time for new approaches to vaccine
development to emerge. The industry, government, and public
sector are all working together to investigate options to
improve and shore up our vaccine supply in the near term but
also make long term improvements. We believe that VaxInnate’s
approach and products under development are uniquely positioned
to address key challenges in the marketplace.”
Philippe Chambon MD. PhD., Managing Director of New Leaf Venture
Partners and Seth Rudnick, General Partner of Canaan Partners,
joined VaxInnate’s Board of Directors.
Seaview Securities of New York served as the placement agent for
the financing.
About VaxInnate
VaxInnate is a privately-held biotechnology company focused on
developing novel, proprietary vaccines for both pandemic and
seasonal influenza. The company's Toll-like receptor (TLR)
technology platform allows for genetic engineering of the
vaccines using recombinant DNA techniques. This technology
physically links TLR agonists to vaccine antigens, which allows
the conjugated vaccine to trigger an adaptive immune response.
VaxInnate is using its TLR platform technology to enhance the
immunogenicity of a series of antigens which will be combined
into a number of different influenza products. The technology
platform is also being investigated for development of vaccines
for other diseases. For more information on VaxInnate, please
visit
www.vaxinnate.com.
About NLV Partners
New Leaf Venture (NLV) Partners is a life science-dedicated
venture capital firm with offices in Menlo Park and New York.
Founded by the former members of Sprout Group's Healthcare
Technology venture team, NLV Partners invests primarily in
companies focused on clinical-stage biopharmaceutical products,
early-stage medical devices, and molecular diagnostics. In
addition, the NLV Partners team continues to manage the existing
$800 million healthcare technology portfolio of Sprout Group.
About Canaan Partners
Canaan Partners are proven company-builders who catalyze the
development of innovative early- and mid-stage technology and
healthcare companies to create next-generation market leaders.
Founded in 1987, the firm has invested in more than 210
companies, completed 52 mergers and acquisitions, and taken 45
companies public. Canaan was an early investor in Dexcom (DXCM),
Dexterra, DoubleClick (DCLK), CommerceOne (CMRC), Copper
Mountain Networks (CMTN), Esperion (ESPR), Immunicon (IMMC), ONI
Systems (ONIS), and Peninsula Pharmaceuticals. Canaan has
offices in Menlo Park, California and Rowayton, Connecticut.
www.canaan.com
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