Redwood City’s Dermira Bags $51 Million, Expands Management Team And Board
August 19, 2014
By Krystle Vermes, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
Today, California-based biopharmaceutical company, Dermira, announced that it has completed a $51 million Series C round of financing.
Bay City Capital, New Enterprise Associates and Canaan Partners were some of the many existing investors who took part in the financing round. Apple Tree Partners, Aisling Capital and Rock Springs Capital were some of the new investors who took part as well.
In addition to raising $51 million, Dermira made a series of executive appointments. David E. Cohen, Matthew Fust, Mark McDade and William Ringo also joined Dermira’s board of directors.
Key Executive Appointments
Following the financing news, Dermira announced that it has appointed Andrew Guggenhime to serve as the next Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. Guggenhime brings a wealth of experience to the company, formerly working as the Chief Financial Officer for CardioDx. In the past, he has also worked for Calistoga Pharmaceuticals and Facet Biotech.
Christine Ring was appointed to the Vice President of Legal at Dermira. Before working at Dermira, Ring was the Chief Intellectual Property Counsel and Senior Vice President of Technology Strategy and Licensing at Amyris. She has also served as the Director of Intellectual Property at Sunesis Pharmaceuticals and Senior Patent Attorney at Kosan Biosciences.
Christine Conroy now serves as the Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs. In this role, she is responsible for Dermira’s regulatory affairs strategy. Before joining the company, she was Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance at Affymax. In the past, she has also handled regulatory affairs at companies including Genitope, Roche Global Development and Syntex.
Dermira at a Glance
Dermira is a privately held biopharmaceutical company with a management team that has extensive experience in product development and commercialization. Some of Dermira’s key focuses include hyperhidrosis, acne, psoriasis and atopic dermatitis.
One of the company’s most successful drugs, Cimzia, has been on the market since 2008. The PEGylated, humanized antigen-binding mAb fragment TNF inhibitor has been used in tens of thousands of patients to treat inflammatory diseases. Furthermore, Cimzia is available in the U.S., as well as other countries around the world.
UCB has completed two Phase 2 clinical trials evaluating Cimzia in adults who are living with plaque psoriasis. Through testing, researchers have found that Cimzia has high levels of efficacy, safety and tolerability in patients.
