NEW YORK, Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Paul Capital Healthcare today announced that it has purchased a royalty interest in Rotarix(R) from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. Rotarix(R) is an oral vaccine developed to prevent rotavirus infection, a contagious viral disease that causes diarrhea and dehydration in infants and young children. The product is marketed by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and has been approved in over 100 countries including all of Europe, most of Latin America, and much of Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Under the terms of this agreement, Paul Capital Healthcare acquired all royalties on worldwide sales of Rotarix(R) from Cincinnati Children's. This is the third investment that the Fund has completed related to Rotarix(R) royalties. In November 2005, Paul Capital Healthcare acquired an interest in Rotarix(R) from three inventors at Cincinnati Children's; and in May 2005 acquired a portion of AVANT Immunotherapeutics' total royalties on Rotarix(R).
"Rotavirus is a serious condition that impacts millions of infants and young children worldwide, leading to fatalities in many cases. We believe that Rotarix(R) addresses a critical global health need and are confident in the long-term viability of the product," said Dr. Walter Flamenbaum, Partner, Paul Capital Healthcare.
Rotarix(R) was invented and initially developed by researchers now at Cincinnati Children's. In 1995, AVANT in-licensed the Rotarix(R) technology from Cincinnati Children's. GSK subsequently licensed the product from AVANT in 1999. According to GSK, rotavirus infects virtually every child worldwide by age five and is the leading cause of severe acute gastroenteritis in infants and young children worldwide. Severe diarrhea and dehydration occurs in infants as young as three months of age with peak incidence between six months and two years.
About Paul Capital Partners and Paul Capital Healthcare
Paul Capital Partners manages nearly $5 billion in equity capital commitments for its three investment platforms that include healthcare direct investments (including royalty and revenue interests in healthcare products), Private Equity Secondaries and Top Tier Fund-of-Funds. The firm has offices in New York, San Francisco, Paris, London and Toronto. Paul Capital Healthcare is one of the largest dedicated healthcare funds globally, with $1.8 billion in equity capital commitments and debt facilities under management. Paul Capital Healthcare has invested more than $875 million in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device sectors. These investments are focused on commercial stage companies and products, and consist of investments in the form of royalties, revenue interests, debt and equity. For more information, visit www.paulcapitalhealthcare.com.
flazar@lazarpartners.com
CONTACT: Fern Lazar of Lazar Partners, +1-212-867-1765,
flazar@lazarpartners.com, for Paul Capital Healthcare
Web site: http://www.paulcapitalhealthcare.com/
