BASEL, Switzerland, March 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Nitec Pharma AG, a specialist pharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases, today announced the closing of a CHF 32 million (approx. US$ 26 million) Series B fundraising. This round was led by NGN Capital, together with existing investors Atlas Venture and Global Life Science Ventures.
The proceeds will be used to develop further Nitec’s lead product Lodotra(TM) in Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and other indications and to develop a second clinical product. Lodotra(TM) is a night time release formulation of a corticosteroid that recently successfully completed Phase III trials in RA.
“Now that we have successfully demonstrated the potential of Lodotra in the clinic, these funds will help us bring to the market a product that meets real patient needs while also enabling us to expand Nitec’s product pipeline and commercial potential,” commented Jochen Mattis, co-founder and Head of Marketing and Sales at Nitec Pharma, “We are particularly happy to have NGN Capital lead this round.”
Dr. Peter Johann, Managing General Partner of NGN Capital, will join the Board of Nitec Pharma AG. Dr. Johann stated, “We are very excited about this late stage opportunity with Lodotra being close to launch for the treatment of RA in Europe. Lodotra addresses a high unmet medical need in RA and has the potential to be of similar benefit in other indications. With the broad range of indications Lodotra can address, and with a second highly valuable compound being added to the pipeline, we see significant additional future value to being created by the company.”
About Nitec Pharma AG:
Nitec Pharma is a specialist pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of optimized medicines for the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases. Headquartered in Reinach, Switzerland, with a wholly-owned subsidiary in Mannheim, Germany, the Company is developing Lodotra(TM), a night time release formulation of prednisone, to address morning symptoms such as morning stiffness in rheumatoid arthritis. Lodotra(TM) has just successfully completed Phase III trials and will also be developed to treat other indications such as Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR), asthma and other inflammatory diseases. Nitec was originally founded in 2004 in a spin-out from Merck KGaA. Lodotra(TM) was originally developed at Merck in cooperation with SkyePharma using SkyePharma’s GEOCLOCK(TM) technology. The company is financed by venture-capital firms Atlas Venture, GLSV and NGN Capital. For further information about Nitec Pharma please visit www.nitecpharma.com
About NGN Capital
NGN Capital is a global healthcare venture capital investment firm Presently managing a $250 million Fund. NGN has investment capabilities across a broad spectrum of healthcare segments, including drug products, medical devices, and healthcare services, with an emphasis on later-stage opportunities. NGN has offices in New York, NY, Heidelberg, Germany, and Greenwich, CT. More information on NGN can be found at www.ngncapital.com
About Atlas Venture
Atlas Venture is a leading early-stage international venture capital firm that invests in technology and life sciences businesses in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Since inception in 1980, its partners have helped build over 300 companies in more than 16 different countries. In the past decade, 44 portfolio companies have been acquired and 47 are now public companies with an aggregate market capitalization of over $15 billion. Atlas Venture manages over $2.5 billion in capital through offices in Boston, London, Munich, and Paris. For more information, visit www.atlasventure.com.
About Global Life Science Ventures:
GLSV is a leading, independent venture capital fund focusing exclusively on the life sciences. With offices in Germany and Switzerland, GLSV is dedicated to supporting early-stage companies originating from universities, scientific institutions or industry, but also invests in selected later-stage companies, including buy-outs. The group currently advises and manages funds totaling more than EUR200 million. GLSV has now financed 32 innovative life science companies in Europe and the US, twelve of which have completed an exit through IPO, trade sale or M&A. Since 1996, GLSV has built up a broadly diversified portfolio of companies in pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, medical devices, and biotechnology. For more information about GLSV, go to www.glsv-vc.com.
Source: Nitec Pharma AG
