November
2005 issue
Private Equity Funding Doubles
Investment Firms Committed Twice As Much
Capital To Public Companies - The market warmed up with the New England
weather during the first full month of Fall for public health care companies
raising capital in the private equity market.
...
Venture Capital Market
Several of the later venture capital rounds announced by health care
companies were dwarfed by a Series A financing in October. The same firm led
two of the three largest investments.
...
Public Equity Market
One skilled nursing company filed for its IPO while an assisted living
company is waiting to price. A handful of secondaries and a few IPOs were
priced in other health care sectors.
...
Mergers and Acquisitions
Four health care deals in the billion- dollar range were announced during
October, including two that are acquisitions by private equity firms.
...
Notes & Briefs
...
Key Contacts
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headlines.
Companies Mentioned in this issue:
November 2005 A
aaiPharma p2
Accellent p5
Accentia Biopharmac. p3
Accentia Biopharmaceuticals p3
Advanced Neuromodulation Systems p5
Alegent Health p4
Alinea Pharmaceuticals p4
Alliance UniChem p5
Alloy Ventures p11
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals p3, p6
Altus Pharmaceuticals p3
American Scientific p8
American Society of Anesthesiologists p11
AmSurg p10
Angiotech Pharmaceuticals p3
Arcadia Resources p7
Arcadia RX p7
Arcadia Services p7
Arcapita p10
Arcapita Ventures p10
Aries Ventures p7, p8
Artesian Therapeutics p8
Aspect Medical Systems p11
ATS Medical p8
Avanir Pharmaceuticals p8
AxioMed Spine p4
B
Bayer p5
Bear, Stearns p3
Beijing Med-Pharm p8
Beximco Pharmaceuticals Limited p3
BIO-IB, LLC p8
Boots Healthcare International p4
Bridgetech Holdings p8
C
Canine Assistants p12
Cardiome Pharma p8
Cardium Therapeutics p7, p8
CDC p12
Center for Environmental Health p12
CepTor Corporation p7
Ceragenix Pharmaceuticals p12
Cerimon Pharmaceuticals p1
CIBC p3
Citigroup p3
Claritas Capital p10
CombinatoRx p3
CoTherix p3
Critical Home Care p7
Cytokinetics p1
D
Diomed Holdings p8
Discovery Labs p8
Durect p3
Dynavax p3
E
E.B. Coxe & Co. p8
Electro-Optical Scien. p3
Electro-Optical Sciences p3
Emergency Medical p3
Endo Pharmaceuticals p3
Evolutec Group p8
F
Forbes Medi-Tech p8
Fusion Capital p7
G
Gentium p8
GlaxoSmithKline p5
Griffin Securities p8
GTx, Inc. p3
H
Hana Biosciences p8
HealthSpring p3
Helix BioPharma p8
Hythiam p3
I
Idenix Pharmaceutic. p3
Inflazyme p8
InNexus Biotechnology p8
Innovative Spinal Technologies p4
Institute for Diabetes Discovery p4
J
Johnson & Johnson p5
JPMorgan p3
K
KEYS Group Holding p4
KIKA Medical p11
Kingsbridge Capital p1
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts p5
L
Laboratorios del Dr. Esteve p8
LaJolla Pharmaceutical p8
Lazard p3
Libertas Capital p3
Life Science Angels p4
M
Med Gen p11
Medicsight p8
Merriman Curhan Ford & Co. p8
Metabasis Therapeutics p6
Michigan State p4
Morgan Stanley p3
Morgenthaler Ventures p11
MPM Capital p1
Myriad Genetics p3
N
N Spine p4
Nebraska Spine Center p4
Needham and Company p7
NewGen Ventures p11
NGN Biomed Opportunity I p11
NGN Capital p11
NIAID p12
Nighthawk Radiology p3
NIH p12
Nomura Phase4 Ventures p1
Novartis p3
NxStage Medical p3
O
Oncomed p11
Oppenheimer and Co. p8
Optimer Pharmaceuticals p12
OrbiMed Advisors p1
Ortec International p8
Oxford Bioscience Partners p8
P
Panacos Pharmaceut. p3
Patient Infosystems p8
Pfizer p5
Philadelphia Brokerage Corporation p8
Phytomedical Tech. p3
Piper Jaffray & Co. p7
Precimed Group p4
Predix Pharmaceutic. p3
Protox Therapeutics p8
pSivida Limited p8
R
Reckitt Benckiser p5
Replidyne p11
Response Biomedical p8
Revolution Health Group p12
RKDA p7
Robert W. Baird p8
Rodman & Renshaw p6
S
SaferSleep p11
SDS Capital p8
SG Cowen & Co. p6
SkinMedica p3
Somaxon Pharmaceut. p3
Spine Wave p11
SpineMedica p4
St. Jude Medical p5
Stanford Group p3
Surgery Health Group p4
T
Tandem Health Care p3
Team Health p5
Techno Venture Management p11
Tercica p1
The Blackstone Group p5
The Brown Schools p4
ThinkEquity p3
Threshold Pharmaceut. p3
TVM Life Science Ventures VI p11
U
UBS p3
UCB Pharma p12
Universal Health Services p4
University of Miami p4
V
Vasogen p7
Vasogen Ireland Limited p7
Vical Incorporated p7
Voyager Pharmaceut. p3
W
WR Hambrecht p3
X
Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals p2 |
Private Equity Funding Doubles
More than $627 million in private equity was committed to
32 publicly traded health care companies during October. During the
previous month, just 21 companies had announced private placements
totaling nearly $328 million—but the market is not as hot as it was in
August, with $926 million raised. The two largest deals announced in
October involve the same private investment group.
Kingsbridge Capital Limited committed to invest up
to $1.5 million in biopharmaceutical companies, through two equity
financing facilities of $75 million each, one for Tercica, Inc.
(NASDAQ: TRCA) and one for Cytokinetics, Incorporated (NASDAQ: CYTK).
Brisbane, California-based Tercica’s first product, Increlex, or
recombinant human insulin-like growth factor-1, was approved for the
long-term treatment of severe primary insulin-like growth factor-1
deficiency, which occurs in children with short stature. Cytokinetics is
focused on discovering, developing and commercializing drugs that target
the cytoskeleton (a system of protein filaments in the cytoplasm of a
eucaryotic cell), with the intent of treating cancer, plus cardiovascular
and other diseases, more safely and effectively.
Through the direct sale of registered stock to Spain-based
Laboratorios del Dr. Esteve, Discovery Labs (NASDAQ: DSCO)
raised nearly $4.5 million. DSCO’s CEO, John Cooper, said the deal
satisfies Esteve’s desire to acquire more of DSCO’s shares, and provides
DSCO with capital as it prepares, subject to FDA approval, to launch its
first product, Surfaxin, which has received orphan drug status from the
FDA for chronic lung disease in premature infants, during the second
quarter of 2006.
Among the other large private placements this month,
LaJolla Pharmaceutical Co. (NASDAQ: LJPC) secured $65 million. Not
long after that deal was announced, LaJolla received a notice from NASDAQ
that its stock was in danger of being delisted—but this was expected. The
financing is part of LaJolla’s plan to rectify the issues with NASDAQ,
along with a reverse stock split expected on December 2, pending a
shareholder vote, according to Andrew Wiseman, Senior Director of Business
Development. Riquent, LJPC’s lead drug candidate, is in Phase III trials
for the treatment of lupus.
October also saw two private equity deals for
biopharmaceutical companies that sort of sound similar. Canada-based
Cardium Therapeutics, Inc. merged with a specifically formed
subsidiary of Aries Ventures (PK: ARVT), and California-based
Cardiome Pharma Corp. (NASDAQ: CRME; TSX: COM) acquired Artesian
Therapeutics, Inc.
The entity resulting from the first deal, to be called
Cardium Therapeutics, Inc., closed on a $28.5 million equity financing
following the merger, bringing its total capital to $30 million. In the
other deal, Cardiome Pharma closed a $7.5 million financing concurrently
with its acquisition of Artesian Therapeutics, which has two advanced
small molecule discovery programs in the area of congestive heart failure.
Cardium is focused on interventional cardiology and the development and
commercialization of DNA-based, myocardial-derived growth factor
therapeutics, while Cardiome, a product-focused cardiovascular drug
development company, now has discovery and development assets focused on
the cardiovascular market. |
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