Two Companies Developing Pain Drugs Are Among Top Five Health Care Venture Capital Deals In June (July 16, 2007)

Although none of the rounds were of spectacular size, the companies that announced the five largest deals in June 2007 are all focused on providing important products in major markets.  Paracor Medical, a developer of device-based treatments for heart failure, will use the proceeds from a its Series D financing primarily to be support a recently-initiated pivotal clinical trial of its HeartNet device, which has been implanted in 50 patients since 2004 as part of early safety and feasibility studies.  Paracor raised $44 million in the round, from Aberdare Ventures, Montagu Newhall Associates, Delphi Ventures, InterWest Partners, Alta Partners and other investors.  ROXRO Pharma announced it had raised a venture capital round to support ongoing development shortly after releasing the results of a phase III trial of its lead product, an intranasal analgesic, indicating it rapidly and effectively eased pain and was well tolerated in patients who had undergone major abdominal surgery.  Prospect Ventures and Sutter Hill Ventures invested $42.7 million in the Series B financing announced by ROXRO.  Millennium Pharmacy Systems, a provider of contract pharmacy services to the long-term care industry, secured $40 million in venture funding primarily to be used as working capital, including facilitating the ongoing rapid scaling of its business.  Millennium secured the financing from Essex Woodlands Health Ventures, Ascension Health Ventures, CHL Medical Ventures and Boulder Ventures.  Logical Therapeutics is developing drugs to treat inflammatory diseases and will the funding it secured to advance multiple development programs, including its lead drug candidate, a novel naproxen pro-drug, through proof-of-concept clinical trials.  Burrill & Company, Novo A/S, Sigvion Capital and PA Early Stage Ventures provided $30 million to Logical Therapeutics in its B-round.  Archemix, as part of a multi-year strategic alliance agreement with Merck Serono to discover, develop and commercialize first-in-class aptamer therapeutics, primarily for treating cancer, Archemix received a $29.8 million equity investment from Merck KGaA, and also granted additional options to the investor.

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