WATERTOWN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company utilizing breakthrough synthetic chemistry technology to discover and develop next-generation antibiotics, today announced that it has raised $45 million in a Series C financing. Excel Venture Management led the round with participation from existing investors CMEA Ventures, Fidelity Biosciences, Flagship Ventures, Mediphase Venture Partners and Skyline Ventures.
Proceeds from the Series C financing will be used to advance Tetraphase’s pipeline of novel antibiotics, into Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical studies. The company’s lead product candidate, TP-434, a broad spectrum intravenous (IV) antibiotic with the potential for superior potency against Gram- negative pathogens is anticipated to enter Phase 2 clinical studies in 2010. In addition, the Company will advance two novel IV/oral antibiotics, TP-2758, which is designed to treat complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI) and, TP-834, for the treatment of community acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP).
“We are delighted by the strong investor interest in this Series C financing which reflects the value created since our last round and validates the unique potential of Tetraphase’s platform and product pipeline,” said Guy Macdonald, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tetraphase. “This new financing will allow us to advance our portfolio of novel antibiotic candidates into the clinic to address serious infections caused by drug-resistant gram-negative bacterial pathogens where few treatment options exist.”
“Antibiotic resistance is a continually emerging and extremely serious global health crisis. We urgently need to develop an adequate and effective antibiotic armamentarium to deal with it and the antibiotics being developed by Tetraphase will be welcome additions,” said Robert C. Moellering Jr., M.D., the Shields Warren-Mallinckrodt Professor of Medical Research at Harvard Medical School.
“Tetraphase’s transformational and proprietary chemistry platform enables – for the first time – the ability to design and create thousands of novel tetracyclines, which are a known, powerful class of antibiotics, giving them many shots on goal to develop potent antibiotics with unique properties for treating serious drug-resistant infections,” said Steve Gullans, Ph.D., Managing Director of Excel Venture Management.
In connection with this financing, Dr. Gullans of Excel Venture Management will join the Board of Directors of Tetraphase.
About TP-434
As the lead product candidate in the Tetraphase clinical pipeline, TP-434 is designed as a broad spectrum IV antibiotic with the potential for superior efficacy against Gram-negative pathogens. In vitro studies with TP-434 have demonstrated greater potency in comparison to currently marketed antibiotics. Preliminary data have shown that TP-434 also has the potential to be developed as an oral therapy. TP-434 has successfully completed Phase 1 clinical studies and is poised to enter Phase 2 in 2010.
About Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company utilizing its breakthrough synthetic chemistry technology platform to discover and develop next-generation tetracycline antibiotics that address unmet needs for serious infections such as drug resistance and Gram-negative infections. The company has developed an emerging pipeline of potent novel antibiotics that provide a portfolio of intravenous and oral drug candidates with the potential to treat a wide range of infections, including broad-spectrum and selective-spectrum infections. To learn more about Tetraphase, please visit www.tphase.com.
Contact:
Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals David Lubner, 617-715-3551 SVP, COO or The Yates Network Kathryn Morris, 845-635-9828
