CHELMSFORD, Mass., Nov. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Magellan Biosciences, an emerging leader in clinical-diagnostic markets worldwide, announced today that it has closed a new $50 million round of debt and equity financing, led by new investor, Abingworth Management. Other first-time investors include Hambrecht & Quist Capital Management, and KBL Healthcare Ventures. Magellan’s primary equity sponsor, Ampersand Ventures, as well as other existing investors, New England Partners Capital LP, Nexus Medical Partners II SICAR, and Boston Community Venture Fund, also participated. Michael F. Bigham, an Abingworth director responsible for the company’s Boston office, and Daniel R. Omstead, president and CEO of Hambrecht & Quist Capital Management (HQCM), joined Magellan’s board.
“Abingworth and Hambrecht & Quist Capital Management are marquis names in life-sciences investing, and their support, along with that of the other investors, follows the enormously successful launch of our point-of-care CLIA-waived LeadCare II blood-lead-testing system,” said Magellan President and Chief Executive Officer, Robert J. Rosenthal, PhD. “This new funding will allow us to expand our growth through further new product development as well as strategic acquisitions. We plan to expand our presence in products for clinical-diagnostics, hospital-based labs, and near-patient testing that improve health outcomes.”
Dr. Rosenthal continued, “We’re very pleased to have Michael Bigham and Dan Omstead join our board. They each bring with them a wealth of experience in the life-sciences/biotech arenas, and we look forward to their insights as we continue to build Magellan into a world-class company.”
Mr. Bigham, who joined Abingworth in 2002, has 20 years of experience serving life-sciences companies in operational and investment-banking roles. He was president and chief executive of Coulter Pharmaceuticals from July 1996 until it merged into Corixa in December 2000, when he became Corixa’s vice chairman. Previously, he was an early employee at Gilead Sciences where he spent eight years serving in various capacities, including executive vice president of operations and CFO. Before joining Gilead, Mr. Bigham was a partner at Hambrecht & Quist, where he became co-head of healthcare investment banking. A certified public accountant, he has a bachelor’s degree in commerce from the University of Virginia and a master’s in business from Stanford University.
Dr. Omstead has been president of HQCM since 2001. He also serves as president of H&Q Life Sciences Investors and H&Q Healthcare Investors, two NYSE listed closed-end mutual funds that make venture and public equity investments principally in small, emerging healthcare-related companies. Prior to joining HQCM, Dr. Omstead was president and CEO of Reprogenesis, Inc., a private biotech company developing therapies in the field of regenerative medicine. In 2000, Reprogenesis was merged with two other biotech companies to form Curis, Inc. Previously, Dr. Omstead was senior vice president, research and development at Cytotherapeutics, Inc., a public biotech company that developed central nervous system therapies. Prior to entering the biotech industry, he worked for 14 years in the pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Omstead holds doctoral and master’s degrees in chemical engineering and applied chemistry from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Lehigh University.
About Magellan Biosciences
Magellan serves the worldwide clinical-diagnostics market with rapid point-of-care analyzers and automated systems for hospital-based labs and near-patient testing. Scientists use our discovery systems and sensors for cutting-edge research to develop a new understanding of health and illness -- from disease pathology to biomarker identification. We design all of our systems, sensors, and consumables to deliver better, more-reliable results. And better results help drive improved health outcomes: earlier, more-accurate diagnoses; breakthroughs that can lead to novel treatments, new cures -- innovations to enhance life. A privately held company, Magellan serves customers through wholly owned subsidiaries: ESA Biosciences, Dynex Technologies, and TekCel. For more information, visit http://www.magellanbio.com.
About Ampersand Ventures
Founded in 1988, Ampersand is a leading private equity investment firm with offices in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and San Diego, California. With more than $600 million under management, Ampersand pursues a stage-independent investment strategy across a broad range of industry sectors, including life sciences and healthcare.
About Abingworth Management
Abingworth is a long-established venture capital firm dedicated to the life sciences sector on both sides of the Atlantic. The company invests across all stages of development, including early-stage as well as public companies. Abingworth has funds under management of over $750 million. Founded in 1973, Abingworth has offices in London, Cambridge (UK), Menlo Park (California) and Boston. For more information, visit http://www.abingworth.com.
About Hambrecht & Quist Capital Management, LLC
A registered investment adviser based in Boston, Massachusetts, Hambrecht & Quist Capital Management is currently the investment adviser for two closed-end equity funds, H&Q Healthcare Investors and H&Q Life Sciences Investors. The Funds invest in small emerging growth equities, both public and private, in the healthcare and life sciences industries. For more information, visit http://www.hqcm.com.
About KBL Healthcare Ventures
KBL Healthcare Ventures is a venture capital firm based in New York City dedicated to investing in private, emerging growth healthcare companies. KBL’s goal is to identify companies that are run by seasoned management teams and that have the potential to create long-term value in the healthcare industry. For more information, visit http://www.kblvc.com.
About New England Partners
Founded in 1992, New England Partners is a Boston-based venture capital firm specializing in making equity investments in technology, healthcare, and consumer product companies. During the past twenty years, the professionals at NEP collectively have invested in over 250 companies, resulting in a successful record of investment realizations through sales, IPOs and mergers. For more information, visit http://www.nepartners.com.
About Nexus Medical Partners
Nexus Medical Partners is a private equity firm, headquartered in Boston, MA, specializing in making private equity investments in and providing strategic assistance to medical technology and selected life science companies. For more information, visit http://www.nexusmp.com.
About Boston Community Venture Fund
Boston Community Venture Fund (BCVF) is a leading community development venture capital fund that invests throughout the Northeast in high-potential businesses that create a “double bottom line” of financial and social returns. In addition to providing capital, we actively engage with our portfolio companies to help them achieve their growth objectives. For more information, visit http://www.bcvfund.com.
Media Contact:
Caroline Grossman - 781.771.5579 - cgrossman@magellanbio.com
Magellan Biosciences
CONTACT: Caroline Grossman of Magellan Biosciences, +1-781-771-5579,cgrossman@magellanbio.com
Web site: http://www.magellanbio.com//
