vasopharm BIOTECH GmbH Closes € 9.7 Million Series B Investment

Würzburg, Germany; 30th January 2006 – vasopharm BIOTECH GmbH (vasopharm) today announced the successful completion of its Series B financing amounting to € 9.7 million ($ 11.8 million). The investment is led by EMBL Ventures, Heidelberg, Germany. Additional new investors participating in this round were Bayern Kapital, Landshut and KfW, Frankfurt a. M., both from Germany. Existing shareholders Future Capital AG, Frankfurt a. M., Entrepreneurs Fund, Amsterdam, 3i Group Investments LP, London, and several private investors also participated. Dr. Christof Antz, managing partner of EMBL Ventures, will join vasopharm’s board of directors as chairman.

This Series B financing will support the further clinical development of vasopharm’s compound VAS 203, a nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor for the treatment of closed head injury (CHI). VAS 203 has shown high efficacy and safety in pre-clinical studies and is expected to begin clinical testing in the third quarter of 2006. “Up to date there is no effective treatment option for acute CHI, a condition that affects more than 300.000 patients worldwide often leading to death or persistent disabilities. Due to the company’s exclusive approach, its impressive achievements to date and its excellent management and know-how, vasopharm is in a prime position to become the leading biotech company focussing on CHI treatment and other nitric has a unique portfolio of early and mid-stage projects centred on endothelial health and the NO-pathway. In addition to VAS 203, the company’s early stage NAD(P)H oxidase (NOX) inhibitors provide excellent partnering opportunities and shareholder value”, says Christian Leikert, CEO of Future Capital.

Christian Wandersee, CEO of vasopharm BIOTECH: "We are thrilled to announce this significant round of funding which enables us to carry our core project VAS 203 through the completion of proof-of-concept in man. The addition of three new investors and the explicit commitment by all previous investors is a strong sign of the importance of our product portfolio and clearly acknowledges our great recent progress in development.”

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