MENLO PARK, Calif., Sept. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- ForteBio(R), Inc., a leading supplier of label-free technology that accelerates the development of life science and pharmaceutical products, today announced the closing of $25 million in Series C financing, led by OrbiMed Advisors, a top global healthcare investment firm. MPM Capital also participated as a new investor in this financing round, as did existing investors Alloy Ventures, Latterell Venture Partners, The Vertical Group and Versant Ventures.
“With this new financing, ForteBio is well-positioned to continue to introduce industry-leading products and expand our market globally,” said Joseph D. Keegan, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of ForteBio. “We are also delighted to add such renowned life science investors as OrbiMed Advisors and MPM Capital to our team and strongly value the continued support of our existing, highly-respected investors.”
“ForteBio has successfully integrated its outstanding innovation capabilities in the U.S. and low-cost manufacturing capabilities in Asia to create superior products, enabling the life sciences industry worldwide,” said Jonathan Wang, Ph.D., Managing Director for OrbiMed Asia. “OrbiMed is pleased to provide its strong resources in both the U.S. and Asia to support Dr. Keegan and his excellent management team to build ForteBio into a global leader.” Dr. Wang, along with Kazumi Shiosaki, Ph.D., Managing Director of MPM Capital, will join the ForteBio board of directors.
Since launching its Octet(R) QK System in late 2005, ForteBio has grown rapidly. It now has 11 biosensors (consumables) on the market and counts all of the leading biotechnology companies and 18 of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies as customers, many of which have purchased multiple systems. This year ForteBio introduced its Octet RED system and additional biosensors, expanding its quantitation applications and broadening its small molecule kinetics capabilities. The company also added a European direct selling team and numerous distributors throughout the world this year in order to better serve its growing global pharmaceutical, biotechnology, academic and government customer base.
ForteBio also announced today that Dr. Keegan will present an update on company activities at the UBS Global Life Sciences Conference on Wednesday, September 24, 2008, at 2:30 p.m. EDT. His presentation will take place in Ballroom A at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City. A live audio webcast of the presentation will be available at http://events.streamx.us/US/event/eventdetails.aspx?id=ubs20080922 and will be accessible until October 25, 2008.
About OrbiMed Advisors, LLC
OrbiMed is the world’s largest life sciences and healthcare-dedicated investment firm, with approximately $5 billion in assets under management. Since inception of its private equity investment activities in 1993, OrbiMed has successfully invested in close to 100 companies across a wide range of therapeutic categories and stages of development. OrbiMed’s investment team includes approximately 30 experienced professionals with backgrounds in science, medicine, industry, finance and law. OrbiMed’s professionals work together using a collaborative, team-oriented approach to support our portfolio companies, which has earned OrbiMed a reputation as a capital provider of choice for life sciences companies of all stages. OrbiMed has established the first pan-Asia life sciences-dedicated venture capital fund and has opened offices in Shanghai and Mumbai. For more information, visit http://www.OrbiMed.com.
About ForteBio, Inc.
ForteBio is a venture capital-funded company providing analytical systems to accelerate life science and pharmaceutical development. These systems provide quantitation and kinetic information, enabling real-time analysis of biomolecular interactions. ForteBio’s analytical capabilities allow significantly easier, faster and better characterization of drug candidates, thus providing greater value in drug development applications where existing methods have limitations in throughput, performance and cost. The company is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, with wholly owned subsidiaries in Shanghai and London. For more information, visit http://www.fortebio.com.
CONTACT: Joseph D. Keegan, Ph.D., President and CEO
CONTACT: Joseph D. Keegan, Ph.D., President and CEO of ForteBio, Inc.,
+1-650-322-1360
Web site: http://www.fortebio.com/
http://www.OrbiMed.com/
