SAN DIEGO, April 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Sangart, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on the research, development and commercialization of oxygen transport agents, announced today that it received $50 million in new equity funding from existing investors, led by Leucadia National Corporation. The Series F round brings the total amount raised by the company since its inception in 1998 to more than $120 million. This financing round also included warrants which, if exercised, could provide an additional $50 million in future funding.
The proceeds of this financing will be used to advance two large-scale multi-country European Phase III clinical trials of Sangart’s lead product candidate, Hemospan(R), a hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier designed to serve as an alternative to blood transfusions. The trials, which began enrolling last month, are designed to gauge the ability of Hemospan(R) to prevent and treat hemodynamic instability, especially hypotension, or low blood pressure, during orthopedic surgery and will include more than 800 patients.
“We are very pleased to extend our partnership with Leucadia, who share our confidence in the clinical potential of Hemospan,” said Robert Winslow, M.D., Chairman, President and CEO of Sangart.
Ferghana Securities acted as financial advisor to Sangart for this transaction.
About Sangart
Sangart, Inc. is a privately held San Diego, California-based biopharmaceutical company focused on the research, development and commercialization of medical products designed for use as alternatives to blood transfusions.
Dr. Robert Winslow, a world-renowned authority in the field of oxygen transport, founded Sangart in 1998. In the two decades prior to founding Sangart, Dr. Winslow and his colleagues studied and defined mechanisms of oxygen transport by cell-free hemoglobin solutions, funded by competitive grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense. The counterintuitive discoveries by Dr. Winslow’s group on the effective action of oxygen transport agents have been patented and published in numerous scientific articles. From this experience, Sangart’s lead product, Hemospan(R), was designed using unique polyethylene glycol conjugation to create a hemoglobin-based product that is intended to serve as an alternative to donated blood.
The key breakthroughs in the development of Hemospan(R) were the understanding of the mechanisms of vasoconstriction caused by cell-free hemoglobin and the development of simplified production methods that are designed to make the final product commercially viable. These breakthroughs laid the groundwork for Sangart’s business concept of developing cost- effective oxygen carriers that can be used to treat or prevent hypotension in lieu of transfused red blood cells during episodes of temporary blood loss, such as surgery or trauma.
To learn more about Sangart, please visit the company’s website at www.sangart.com.
About Leucadia National Corporation
Leucadia National Corporation is a diversified holding company engaged in a variety of businesses, including manufacturing, real estate activities, medical product development, winery operations, and property and casualty reinsurance. The company concentrates on return on investment and cash flow to maximize long-term shareholder value. Leucadia National Corporation (LUK) is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
Media Contact: Richard Lewis Communications, Inc. 212-827-0020 Gregory Tiberend gtiberend@rlcinc.com or Meghan Feeks mfeeks@rlcinc.com
Sangart, Inc.
CONTACT: Gregory Tiberend, gtiberend@rlcinc.com, or Meghan Feeks,mfeeks@rlcinc.com, both of Richard Lewis Communications, Inc., for Sangart,Inc., +1-212-827-0020,
Web site: http://www.sangart.com/
