Advertisement
The private equity investment is being led by Forward Ventures, JAFCO, andNovartis Venture Fund with significant participation from Fidelity Biosciencesand MedImmune Ventures. Additional investors include Athenian VenturePartners and MC Life Sciences Ventures (Mitsubishi International Corporation).Seaview Securities serves as the placement agent for the transaction.
Advertisement
LigoCyte, which develops products based on its virus-like particle (VLP)and monoclonal antibody technologies, has focused efforts on vaccines forimportant gastrointestinal and respiratory markets. Recent advances by thecompany of its VLP vaccines for norovirus and influenza propelled the currentinvestment. In particular, the company is currently completing a Phase Iclinical study of the norovirus vaccine and plans to commence a live-viruschallenge study in human volunteers.
Norovirus is the leading cause of infectious gastroenteritis in the UnitedStates and other developed countries. Norovirus outbreaks are becomingincreasingly recognized as an important contributor to morbidity and mortalityin vulnerable populations, particularly in pediatric and geriatric subjects.Recent progress in detection and surveillance has increased awareness ofnorovirus in the health care community, and epidemic outbreaks in hospitals,nursing homes and schools highlight the significance of the medical need for asafe and effective vaccine.
In addition to the norovirus vaccine program, LigoCyte has developed aninfluenza VLP vaccine that has demonstrated significant cross-protectionagainst lethal influenza challenge in the industry standard model of vaccineperformance. The company is looking forward to aggressively moving thisvaccine candidate into human clinical testing.
"We are very pleased with the level of interest that LigoCyte hasgenerated in the investor community," said Donald Beeman, LigoCyte's ChiefExecutive Officer. "We are especially pleased with the mix of institutionaland strategic investors in this Series C round of financing. These resourceswill fund LigoCyte through critical proof of principle of our later-stagedevelopment candidates."
The new Chairman of the Board, Ivor Royston, M.D., Founding ManagingMember of Forward Ventures, stated: "We are very excited about investing inLigoCyte as a clinical stage company because of the potential of protectinglarge populations against viral infections that cause significant morbidityand mortality throughout the world. LigoCyte addresses a large unmet need intoday's vaccine space. If further work bears out, the LigoCyte VLP platformmay become the method of choice to produce the next generation of efficaciousvaccines for both seasonal influenza and avian influenza."
Prior support of LigoCyte has come from many different individuals andorganizations. Robert Bargatze, the company's Chief Scientific Officer andone of its founders commented, "Montana is fortunate to have a growing venturecapital and investor network, such as Glacier Venture Fund and the FrontierAngel Fund that can contribute to the growth of small companies. Theencouragement and support from our elected officials has also made asignificant difference in the company's success. It is our goal to be one ofmany successful biotech companies in Montana. This investment provides anexample of the viability of the entrepreneurial spirit in Montana andrepresents the largest single private equity investment ever made in a Montanabiotech company."
For more information on LigoCyte, please visit http://www.ligocyte.com.
SOURCE LigoCyte Pharmaceu
