BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Oct. 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Aeon Bioscience, Inc. today announced the recent acquisition of one of its key collaborators, Brookwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. by SurModics, Inc., a major development in its quest to develop improvements in drug-eluting stent technology for the treatment of cardiovascular disease.
Aeon Bioscience was formed as a collaborative enterprise between Brookwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Targeted Technology Ventures, LLC. Subsequent to announcing the collaboration on May 7, 2007, Brookwood was acquired on August 1, 2007 by SurModics, Inc., a leading provider of surface modification and drug delivery technologies to the healthcare industry. As a result of this acquisition, Aeon expects to benefit from SurModics’ experience in developing drug delivery technologies for drug eluting stents.
Christopher E. Banas, Principal of Targeted Technology Ventures and CEO of Aeon Bioscience, said “The combined strengths of Brookwood and TTV have supplied Aeon with superior experience and talent in the use of biodegradable materials, drug delivery, vascular stent engineering, clinical testing, and the regulatory process. The addition of the SurModics team facilitates our ability to advance our technology to an even higher level, and at an accelerated pace, as we work to achieve our objective of developing a solution to the safety issues currently experienced with drug eluting stents.” Dr. Paul Castella, Principal of TTV and co-founder of Aeon agrees, “We have an exceptional operating team, a renowned advisory board of international leaders in the field, and now a prominent set of added capabilities.”
Dr. Arthur J. Tipton, Ph.D., President of Brookwood Pharmaceuticals, added “We remain excited about the opportunity presented by the Aeon technology. This collaboration will substantially benefit from the vast experience and expertise that the SurModics organization has accumulated in the cardiovascular market.”
Alan H. Dean, Managing Partner, Fund Operations at Greer Capital Advisors and Aeon’s Chairman of the Board, said “We need successes such as these to bring attention to the wealth of mostly untapped potential within the enviable technology resources in Birmingham. This is an excellent example of what we wish to accomplish at Greer Capital Advisors, and expect to see much more of it.”
About Restenosis and Late Stent Thrombosis
One of the most significant medical advances in the treatment of cardiovascular disease has been the use of stents - tiny metal, mesh-like tubes that are inserted to keep arteries open following artery-clearing procedures such as angioplasty. One complication associated with stenting is restenosis (thickening of the artery caused by the healing response at the stent site), which occurs in up to 25 percent of cases, and often results in a costly re-intervention. The advent of drug eluting stents has markedly decreased the problem of restenosis. These metal stents are coated with polymers containing cellular growth-inhibiting drugs that are eluted into the surrounding tissue, resulting in reduced thickening of the vessel wall. However, some recently published clinical studies suggest that patients who receive drug eluting stents may have higher rates of late stent thrombosis (clot formation at or near the site of the stent) than those treated with bare metal stents. While there are many theories for what causes thrombosis, the phenomenon may be attributed at least in part to the inability of the body to heal the vessel wall over the polymer coatings currently used to deliver the drug. More than 50% of patients who develop late stent thrombosis experience either an acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) or death.
About SurModics, Inc.
SurModics, Inc. is a leading provider of surface modification and drug delivery technologies to the healthcare industry. SurModics partners with the world’s foremost medical device, pharmaceutical and life science companies to develop and commercialize innovative products that result in better patient outcomes. Core offerings include: drug delivery technologies (coatings, microparticles, and implants); surface modification coating technologies that impart lubricity, prohealing, and biocompatibility capabilities; and components for in vitro diagnostic test kits and specialized surfaces for cell culture and microarrays. Collaborative efforts include a sustained drug delivery system in human trials for treatment of retinal disease and the drug delivery polymer matrix on the first-to-market drug-eluting coronary stent. SurModics is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota and its Brookwood Pharmaceuticals subsidiary is located in Birmingham, Alabama. For more information about the company, visit www.surmodics.com. The content of SurModics’ web site is not part of this release or part of any filings the company makes with the SEC.
About Targeted Technology Ventures
Targeted Technology Ventures, LLC is a biotechnology and medical device company focused on accelerating important research innovations into the medical marketplace. Targeted Technology’s management team and group of advisors have an extensive and productive history in evaluating, financing, creating and commercializing technologies for significant medical needs.
Targeted Technology’s approach is to identify promising technologies at the early stages of implementation and define a clear product development, intellectual property, regulatory and marketing program as a prerequisite to participation. We actively manage portfolio companies through each stage of development by providing the research methodology, business expertise and network of financial, clinical, regulatory and industry partnerships to help build solid organizations and accelerate their success.
Targeted Technology’s innovative strategy has been successfully applied to the development of a range of diagnostic, pharmaceutical and medical device products, with a particular emphasis in launching new technologies and devices for cardiovascular disease.
About Greer Capital Advisors
Dr. Lawrence W. Greer, senior managing partner, founded Greer Capital Advisors, LLC (GCA) in 2002 and has since directed the raise of two funds, the S.C.O.U.T. Healthcare Fund and the Birmingham Technology Fund (BTF). GCA’s consistent vision has been to provide capital for private equity projects that have the potential to be instruments for economic growth in our community. S.C.O.U.T. Healthcare Fund is a local venture capital fund specializing in healthcare and life sciences, with an emphasis on late-stage and mezzanine deals. The BTF, which has funded the joint venture Aeon Bioscience, Inc., is currently raising up to $25 million and specializes in companies with emerging technologies that have a university or research institution connection within the State of Alabama. For more information see http://www.greercap.com
CONTACT: Kevin Burton, Ph.D. of Aeon Bioscience, +1-205-290-2001, kburton@aeonbio.com
CONTACT: Kevin Burton, Ph.D. of Aeon Bioscience, +1-205-290-2001,
kburton@aeonbio.com
Web site: http://www.greercap.com/