COPENHAGEN, Denmark, March 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Egalet a/s, a drug delivery company focused on the development of oral controlled-release products, today announced the successful closing of a US$27.6 million (EUR23.5 million) financing in a private placement led jointly by new investors Atlas Venture and Index Ventures. Current investors, Bio Fund (Finland), Dansk Kapitalanlaeg (Denmark), Danske Bank (Denmark) and QueQuoin Holdings Ltd. (Jersey), also participated in the financing.
The proceeds from the offering will enable Egalet a/s to take its leading proprietary drug candidates in the therapeutic areas of heart diseases and pain management through final pivotal studies. Furthermore, the proceeds will be used to strengthen Egalet's product pipeline by leveraging its Egalet(R) and Parvulet(R) technologies. These formulation and controlled release technologies offer a unique platform for the development of more advanced therapies for patients.
"Securing this major new funding and attracting leading international investors, such as Atlas and Index, demonstrates the significant opportunity inherent with Egalet. The support shown by our new and existing investors positions the company extremely well for future commercial success," Jan Quistgaard, Chief Executive Officer of Egalet a/s, commented.
"Egalet has been very successful in leveraging a pipeline of products from its technology platform. With two lead products in late clinical development and multiple future opportunities arising from its unique drug delivery technologies, Egalet is well positioned for its transformation to a product development and commercialization entity," noted Dr Regina Hodits of Atlas Venture.
"We are very excited about participating in this financing round. The company has made great strides in developing an attractive portfolio from their controlled-release technology. We believe this foundation will enable Egalet to evolve into a global player in the drug delivery sector," said Francesco de Rubertis of Index Ventures.
Concurrent with the closing of the financing, Seppo Makinen, Senior Partner, Bio Fund, was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors. In addition, Dr Regina Hodits of Atlas Venture and Francesco de Rubertis of Index Ventures will take seats on the Board. Danske Markets Corporate Finance acted as financial adviser to Egalet a/s.
About Egalet
Egalet a/s is a drug delivery company focusing on formulation and development of oral controlled release products using its proprietary drug delivery Egalet(R) and Parvulet(R) technologies. The company has four products in clinical development, two of which are entering into late-stage pivotal studies.
The Egalet(R) tablet incorporates almost any pharmaceutical into a polymeric matrix that is eroded by body fluids at a constant rate. The tablet is made by a simple, unique injection moulding technique, which breaks new ground because it can be used for virtually any type of medicine and provides controlled release with unusual precision and reliability. The Parvulet(R) technology is a novel approach for pediatric drug delivery combining improved consumer acceptance with highly competitive development and production costs. The Parvulet(R) technology is dispensed as a dry powder or tablet that, on exposure to a small amount of water, turns into a tasty soft mass in seconds. Any undesired taste of medicine is completely avoided and so repeat dosing becomes less of an issue for the child.
Egalet aims to become a preferred partner for the pharmaceutical industry with its strategy for controlling drug development efforts from product formulation to clinical testing, regulatory submissions and manufacturing. The company is based in Copenhagen, Denmark. For more information on the company please visit http://www.egalet.com.
About Atlas Venture
Atlas Venture is a leading international venture capital firm that invests in technology and life sciences businesses in the U.S. and Europe. Since inception in 1980, its Partners have helped build over 300 companies in more than 15 different countries. In the past decade, 25 portfolio companies have been acquired and 37 are now public companies with an aggregate market capitalization of over US$12 billion. Atlas Venture is currently investing from its seventh fund and manages over US$2.1 billion in capital through offices in Boston, London, Munich, and Paris. For more information, visit www.atlasventure.com.
About Index Ventures
Index Ventures is a leading European venture capital firm active in investing since 1996. The firm is dedicated to helping top entrepreneurial teams both in the Life Sciences and Information Technology sectors build their companies into market defining global leaders. The firm has offices in Geneva, London and Jersey and focuses its investment activity primarily on Europe and Israel. Life science investments include Genmab, Hamilton, BioXell, Parallele Biosciences, and 7TM. Further information can be found at www.indexventues.com.
About Bio Fund Management
Bio Fund Management Ltd is one of Europe's leading venture capital companies investing solely in life sciences and cleantech. It is a privately owned company having EUR200 million under management and invests mainly in pharma, medtech, nutraceuticals and cleantech businesses. The main geographical focus is in the Nordic Countries but BioFund also has investments in Europe and North America. For further information, visit www.biofund.fi.
About Dansk Kapitalanlaeg A/S
Dansk Kapitalanlaeg A/S is a Private Equity company in Denmark. The company has capital of almost DKK 1billion. Since 1984 Dansk Kapitalanlaeg has invested in 154 companies with more than 13,000 employees and an annual turnover of more than DKK 13 billion. For further information, visit www.dankap.dk
About Danske Bank
Danske Bank is the largest bank in Denmark and a leading player in the Scandinavian financial markets. Danske Bank Group is a diversified financial services company providing a wide range of services to some 3.5 million retail customers and 150,000 corporate customers, primarily in Denmark and northern Europe. Further information can be found at www.danskebank.com.
About QueQuoin Holdings
QueQuoin Holdings Ltd. has been a majority shareholder in Egalet a/s since 1995. QQH is a venture capital company primarily focusing on investments in life sciences.
EgaletCONTACT: For further information, contact: Egalet a/s, Jan Quistgaard,CEO, Tel: +45-44-478080 or Halsin Partners: Mike Sinclair, Director, Tel:+44-(0)870-747-0880
