Kastle Therapeutics Launches In Chicago

CHICAGO, July 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Flexpoint Ford, a private equity firm focused on the healthcare and financial services sectors, today announced that it has entered into a partnership with Alan MacKenzie and Bryan Stuart to form Kastle Therapeutics, LLC (Kastle).  The new company, headquartered in Chicago, will focus on acquiring, developing and commercializing pharmaceuticals targeted toward diseases with high unmet medical needs. Target acquisition opportunities include select therapies already approved for marketing, as well as clinical assets in late stage development. Flexpoint will invest significant equity capital to support management's strategy of advancing important medicines for patients who need them. Kastle's initial acquisition capacity is expected to be in excess of $250 million. Mr. MacKenzie will serve as Executive Chairman and Mr. Stuart will serve as President of Kastle.

Alan MacKenzie is the former Executive Vice President of International and Member Of The Board at Takeda Pharmaceuticals. In other senior leadership roles, Mr. MacKenzie served as President and CEO of Takeda U.S.A. and President and CEO of TAP Pharmaceuticals.

Bryan Stuart is the former Chief Business Officer at Civitas Therapeutics, a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on severe disease within neurology and respiratory. Civitas was acquired in late 2014 by Acorda Therapeutics. Prior to that, Mr. Stuart was Chief of Corporate Development at EKR Therapeutics, which was acquired by Cornerstone Therapeutics. Previously he was Vice President of Business and Corporate Development at Ovation Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by H. Lundbeck A/S.

"The ongoing consolidation in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry is making large numbers of important therapies available for emerging biopharmaceutical companies. Accordingly, it was essential for us to work alongside a financial partner with the resources and sector focus that would allow us to invest in these programs," said Mr. MacKenzie.

"We invest in companies with a compelling business model and an exceptional management team, and Kastle clearly meets both criteria," said Jonathan Oka, Managing Director of Flexpoint Ford. "We look forward to collaborating with Alan and Bryan as they build out Kastle's platform in the high-growth biopharmaceutical market."

"With the backing of Flexpoint Ford, we are well-positioned to pursue these opportunities and create solutions that benefit patients now as well as support important ongoing drug development," said Mr. Stuart. "Flexpoint Ford's expertise and commitment to the industry makes them a perfect partner for Kastle."

About Kastle Therapeutics
Kastle Therapeutics (Kastle) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on acquiring, developing and commercializing pharmaceuticals for diseases with high unmet medical needs. Kastle is backed by Flexpoint Ford and has an initial acquisition capacity in excess of $250 million to acquire approved and development-stage therapeutics. The company is headquartered in Chicago. For more information, please visit www.kastletherapeutics.com.

About Flexpoint Ford
With offices in Chicago and New York, Flexpoint Ford is a private equity investment firm with $1 billion under management, specializing in privately negotiated investments in the healthcare and financial services industries.  Since the firm's formation in 2005, Flexpoint Ford has invested in more than 20 companies across a broad range of sizes, structures and asset classes. For more information, please visit www.flexpointford.com.

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SOURCE Flexpoint Ford; Kastle Therapeutics, LLC