PHENOMIX INVESTORS INCREASE FINANCIAL COMMITMENT TO $35.5 MILLION
- Additional funds advance drug discovery programs and anchor Series B -
San Diego, CA - October 14, 2003 — Phenomix Corporation, a discovery company using whole animal technology to rapidly develop new treatments for disease, today announced that it has accessed $13.5 million from investors' Series A commitment to advance the company's drug discovery programs into preclinical development. Investors increased their original commitment by $3.5 million, bringing the total financing to $35.5 million, signifying both the company's success and investor enthusiasm.
The Series A commitment in March 2002 for $32 million was a staged investment with an initial $12 million funding and two subsequent $10 million tranches. The second tranche has been increased to $13.5 million, reserving the remaining $10 million to anchor a future Series B round. The additional funding commitment was co-led by Alta Partners and Sofinnova Ventures, and included Bay City Capital, CMEA Ventures, GBS Venture Partners, Versant Ventures and others.
"Having met key milestones and quickly ramped-up our drug discovery programs in immune disorders and metabolic syndrome, we successfully increased our original funds and set the stage for a future Series B financing," said Laura K. Shawver, Ph.D., president and CEO of Phenomix. "Our investors' continued and expanded commitment signifies an appreciation of our current and anticipated achievements, including selecting compounds for preclinical development and securing collaborators for our platform and pipeline."
"We are increasing our investment in Phenomix because the company is expanding its portfolio of targets and compounds to create a robust discovery engine for both corporate partnering and internal development," stated Jim Healy, M.D, Ph.D., managing director of Sofinnova Ventures and a Phenomix director. "We have confidence that the company's executives will maximize the value of its unique platform and promising portfolio."
"Our commitment to Phenomix is based on our belief in the company's ability to use animals as living models to uncover relevant therapeutic intervention points for disease and develop drugs against those targets," said Dan Janney, managing director of Alta Partners and Phenomix director. "We view Phenomix as an attractive investment because they combine unbiased discovery techniques and hypothesis-driven approaches, enabling the company to apply its platform to many, potentially large therapeutic areas."
About Phenomix Corporation
Phenomix Corporation uses whole animal technology to rapidly discover and develop new treatments for disease. By generating detailed physiological data in a mammalian system, Phenomix provides meaningful biological insight that allows earlier and better informed decisions across the discovery and development process. The company's unique approach drives Phenomix' programs in immune disease and metabolic syndrome and provides the basis for value-creating collaborations. The company is based in San Diego, California and Canberra, Australia. For more information, visit www.phenomix.com.
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