Proprius Pharmaceuticals Secures Up To $17MM In Series A Financing

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Proprius Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the completion of a Series A financing. The Series A round will provide Proprius with $11 million to progress current programs, including Indaflex(TM), a topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) formulation in Phase II clinical development for osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. The financing agreement allows for a possible expansion of the Series A round from $11 million to $17 million for the funding of new programs. The round was led by Atlas Venture, together with Forward Ventures and CDIB BioScience Venture Management, and was supported by previous investors, including Fog City Fund and Windamere Venture Partners.

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"This round of financing allows us to complete our Phase II trial of Indaflex, file our Investigational New Drug application with the US Food and Drug Administration, and advance Indaflex towards pivotal Phase III trials later this year," said Michael J. Walsh, Proprius Founder and CEO. "Indaflex has the potential to address the signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis of the knee, and represents a potentially safer alternative for a debilitating disease which affects millions of Americans."

"The management team of Proprius Pharmaceuticals has made great progress in aggregating and advancing product candidates that hold significant promise from both a market and patient care perspective," said Jean-François Formela, a senior Partner with Atlas Venture. "We are pleased to build upon this momentum through our investment in Proprius."

In conjunction with this financing, Dr. Jean-Francois Formela, a senior Partner with Atlas will join the Proprius Board of Directors. Dr. Stuart Collinson, a senior Partner with Forward Ventures will also join the Proprius Board, as will Nancy Olson of Fog City Fund, which provided the original seed financing for Proprius Pharmaceuticals. "We are delighted to have investors of this caliber participate in the financing, and believe the industry experience provided by Dr. Formela and Dr. Collinson will be a major contribution to the Proprius Board," said Mr. Walsh.

About Proprius Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Proprius Pharmaceuticals is a fully-integrated specialty pharmaceutical company that develops and markets personalized medicine solutions in rheumatology and autoimmune diseases. This novel combination of proprietary therapeutics and diagnostic services provides a strategic and differentiated approach to commercialization. The company's first therapeutic product candidate, Indaflex(TM) 2.5% Indomethacin Topical Cream, is in phase II development in Canada for the reduction of signs and symptoms associated with OA of the knee. Proprius is a privately-held and venture-backed organization.

About Atlas Venture

Atlas Venture manages $2.5 billion across seven early-stage venture capital funds investing in information technology, communications and life sciences companies in the US and Europe. Atlas has invested in more than 300 companies worldwide since its inception in 1980. Since 1995, 40 of Atlas'

companies have been acquired and 39 are now public companies with an aggregate market capitalization of over $12 billion.

About Forward Ventures

Forward Ventures, founded in 1993, is a leading life-science venture capital firm located in San Diego. Forward has a team of investment professionals with extensive experience in entrepreneurship, venture capital and operations. Our firm has invested in over 50 companies since it was founded in 1993 and currently has more than $500 million in capital under management. The most recent fund, Forward V, continues Forward Ventures' program of life sciences and health care venture investing in companies of all stages of development.

About CDIB BioScience Venture Management

CDIB BioScience Venture Management (CBVM) is one of the largest dedicated life science funds from Taiwan. With offices in Taiwan and United States, CDIB BioScience plans to incubate its own companies in Taiwan, in addition to its direct investment activities.

About Fog City Fund

Fog City Fund is a satellite fund of St. Paul Venture Capital, one of the largest early-stage venture capital firms in the United States with over $3 billion in committed capital. The fund is based in San Francisco and managed by Nancy Olson, who previously headed the St. Paul Venture Capital healthcare portfolio.

About Windamere Venture Partners

Since its inception in 1998, Windamere Venture Partners has supported more than a dozen pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, and other healthcare companies. Windamere is primarily focused on seed and early-stage investments in product-focused healthcare companies.

For more information, please contact: Michael J. Walsh, President & CEO, Proprius Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Web: www.propriuspharma.com Email: mwalsh@propriuspharma.com

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070108/NYM223AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.orgPRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.comProprius Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

CONTACT: Michael J. Walsh, President & CEO, Proprius Pharmaceuticals,Inc., +1-858-436-1816, mwalsh@propriuspharma.com

Web site: http://www.propriuspharma.com/