NEW YORK, Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Paul Royalty Fund today announced that an affiliate of the fund ("Paul Royalty") has purchased a royalty interest in Rotarix® from three researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center ("CCHMC"). Rotarix® is an oral vaccine developed to prevent rotavirus infection, a contagious viral disease that causes diarrhea and dehydration in infants and young children.
Rotarix® was initially developed by researchers now at CCHMC. In 1995, AVANT Immunotherapeutics, Inc. licensed-in the Rotarix® technology from CCHMC. GlaxoSmithKline ("GSK") then licensed the product from AVANT in 1999 and gained approval for Rotarix® in Mexico, the first of an expected series of worldwide approvals, in 2004. On December 15, 2005 GSK also received a positive opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), the scientific committee which evaluates the quality, safety and efficacy of medicinal products in the European Union. Marketing Authorization from the European Commission will make Rotarix® the first rotavirus vaccine available to children in Europe.
Under the terms of this agreement, Paul Royalty will receive a portion of the royalties that these researchers receive on worldwide sales of Rotarix®. This is the second investment that Paul Royalty has completed related to Rotarix®. In May 2005, a separate agreement was entered into with AVANT to provide total financing of up to $61 million in exchange for a portion of AVANT's total royalties on Rotarix® from GSK.
"This arrangement with Paul Royalty provides further validation of the potential opportunity for Rotarix® in treating children and saving children's lives," said David Bernstein, MD, MA, director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at CCHMC and co-inventor of Rotarix®.
"We're pleased that this deal rewards the hard work and dedication of individual inventors who have committed much of their professional lives to advancing medicine," said Clarke B. Futch, Partner, Paul Royalty Fund. "This partnership is part of our ongoing efforts to reach out to inventors and medical research institutions."
"We're pleased to be recognized for our work in enabling better standards of health and living for young children throughout the world," said Richard L. Ward PhD, Research Professor of Pediatrics at CCHMC and co-inventor of Rotarix®.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, rotavirus is the most common cause of diarrhea in infants and young children in the United States. Rotavirus is also a major cause of childhood deaths worldwide. Virtually all children become infected with rotavirus in the first 3 to 5 years of life, but severe diarrhea and dehydration occur mainly among children aged 3 to 35 months. In the U.S., rotavirus is responsible for approximately 5-10 percent of all diarrhea among children less than 5 years of age. Rotavirus accounts for more than 500,000 physician visits, 250,000 emergency room visits, and approximately 50,000 hospitalizations each year among children less than 5 years of age. An estimated one in 200,000 children with rotavirus diarrhea dies from the complications of the infection.
About Paul Capital Partners and Paul Royalty Fund:
Paul Capital Partners manages nearly $5 billion in equity capital commitments for its three investment platforms and has offices in New York, San Francisco, Paris, London and Toronto. The Paul Royalty Fund is one of the largest dedicated healthcare funds globally, with approximately $1 billion in equity capital commitments. The Paul Royalty Fund has made investments in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device sectors valued at more than $625 million. These investments are focused on commercial stage companies and products, and consist of investments in the form of royalties, revenue interests and equity. For more information on Paul Capital Partners and the Paul Royalty Fund visit www.paulcapital.com.
About Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center:
Cincinnati Children's is a 423-bed institution devoted to bringing the world the joy of healthier kids. Cincinnati Children's is dedicated to transforming the way health care is delivered by providing care that is timely, efficient, effective, family-centered, equitable and safe. It ranks third nationally among all pediatric centers in research grants from the National Institutes of Health. The Cincinnati Children's vision is to be the leader in improving child health. For more information on CCHMC visit. www.cincinnatichildrens.org
Source: Paul Royalty Fund
