DURHAM, NC--(MARKET WIRE)--Jun 28, 2007 -- Serenex, Inc., an integrated drug discovery and development company, announced today that it has secured $31 million in financing. The round comprises a $26 million Series D private placement of preferred stock and a $5 million working capital debt facility. The round was oversubscribed and included new investors Cornell Capital Partners, Pearl Street Ventures, MC Life Science Ventures and Pac-Link Bio Venture Capital as well as existing investors Ritchie Capital, Intersouth Partners, Lilly Ventures, Mediphase Venture Partners, Takeda Research Investment and Seaflower Ventures.
Serenex plans to use the proceeds from the financing to fund the clinical development of its two oncology product candidates, SNX-1012 and SNX-5422 and to advance promising antifungal, anti-neurodegenerative, antiviral and other non-oncology programs from the company’s broad family of Heat Shock Protein 90 (Hsp90) inhibitors.
“We are very excited to partner with Serenex, especially following recent accomplishments, including the start of the phase 1 study for SNX-5422 and the filing of several broad Hsp90-related patents,” said Michael Nowak of Cornell Capital Partners. “Serenex’s many strengths include an experienced management team, two valuable assets in SNX-1012 and SNX-5422, a proven discovery platform and a promising pre-clinical pipeline.”
SNX-1012 is a best-in-class molecule for chemotherapy and radiation-induced oral mucositis in solid tumor patients and is scheduled to complete phase 2 clinical trials in late-2007. Oral mucositis, which represents a large and underserved market, frequently causes clinicians to interrupt radiation and chemotherapy which directly leads to decreased rates of efficacy. Four phase 1 trials of SNX-1012 have been successfully completed showing strong indications of pharmacological activity and an excellent safety profile.
SNX-5422 is a novel, orally bioavailable, small molecule inhibitor of Hsp90 which is currently in phase 1 clinical trials in cancer patients. SNX-5422 is structurally distinct from, and provides significant advantages over, analogs of the natural products geldanamycin and radicicol currently in development. Hsp90 is responsible for chaperoning a large number of oncogenic proteins that are necessary to support cancer cell survival and growth. The structural novelty of SNX-5422 has allowed Serenex to file a broad set of patent applications. Inhibition of Hsp90 has demonstrated very promising anti-tumor activity, especially when used in combination with other targeted anti-cancer agents.
Dr. Richard Kent, M.D., CEO and President of Serenex, stated, “We are extremely pleased to have Cornell Capital, Pearl Street Ventures, MC Life Science Ventures and Pac-Link join our existing group of investors in our Series D round. This further validates our strategy of building a premier discovery and development company. During the coming year we expect to create substantial value as we obtain proof-of-concept data for SNX-1012 and we generate early clinical data from SNX-5422, our very promising Hsp90 inhibitor. Additionally, our work in the Hsp90 area has led to tremendous opportunities for other non-oncology candidates.”
About Serenex
Serenex is an integrated drug discovery and development company committed to improving the lives of patients by developing best-in-class therapeutic and supportive care products. Serenex has two best-in-class oncology-focused clinical stage programs. SNX-1012 is a product for chemotherapy and radiation-induced oral mucositis in solid tumor patients which is scheduled to complete phase 2 in late 2007. SNX-5422 is a novel, orally bioavailable, small molecule inhibitor of Heat Shock Protein 90. SNX-5422 is currently in phase 1 in cancer patients. Serenex’s pipeline is powered by a proprietary high throughput screening platform which enables the company to profile compounds, en masse, against thousands of important therapeutic and toxicity targets. Website: www.serenex.com.
Contact: CONTACT: Ian Howes CFO & Sr. V.P. Corporate Development Serenex, Inc. 919/281-6001 Email Contact
Michelle Linn Linnden Communications. 508/419-1555 Email Contact
Source: Serenex
