July
2007 issue
Pain Management Gains Momentum-
Market for Pain Products Attracts Growing Share of Venture Capital
The market for pain
medications and pain management is
growing even more prominent, as health care companies strive
to develop new products and novel technologies to address pain.
...
Half-Year VC
Results Show Growth-
Quarterly Totals Indicate More Dollars Invested In More Deals
Health care venture capital results for the first half of the year seem to
suggest we are still on track for a record year in this market, boosted by a
strong first quarter and supportive second quarter.
...
Venture Capital
Not quite as much funding flowed into health care during June as in the
previous month, but strategic investors made a notable number of
investments, and we take a look at what
resources are being devoted to the fight against drug-resistant bacterial
infections, including MRSA.
...
Mergers & Acquisitions
Medical Devices took the lead in terms of number of health
care M&A deals announced in June, and one billion-dollar deal in
Biotechnology boosted the monthly total in that sector.
...
Private Equity
The dollar total of private placements in
health care companies is definitely up for June, compared with both the
prior month and the same month last year, but one very large deal is
primarily responsible for the jump in funding.
...
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headlines.
Companies Mentioned in this issue:
July 2007
7TM Pharma p5, p10
A
A.G. Edwards p14
A.P. Pharma p4
Aberdare Ventures p10
ACCU-BREAK Pharmaceuticals p11
Acorda Therapeutics p4
AdCare Health p8
Adenosine Therapeutics p5
Aegerion Pharma p4
AILERON Therapeutics p5, p11
Aisling Capital p10
Alantos Pharma. Holdings p8
Alexandria Real Estate Equities p10
AlgoNomics p11
Alkermes p12
Allen & Company p14
Alta Partners p10
Amarin Pharmaceuticals p14
AMDL p4, p14
American Capital Strategies p11
Amgen p8
Ampersand Ventures p11
Amylin Pharmaceuticals p12
Antisoma p9
Apple Tree Partners p11
Aquinox Pharmaceuticals p5
Arbios Systems p4
ARCA Discovery p11
Archemix p5
Asbury Place of Gulf Breeze p8
Ascension Health Ventures p5,p10
Asset Management Co. p11
Association for Professionals in Infection Control p15
Astion Pharma p11
athenahealth p4
Athersys p13
AtriCure p4
ATS Medical p8
Auxilium Pharma p4
Avid Radiopharmaceuticals p11
B
Baekeland Fund II p11
Baltic Sea Foundation p11
Banc of America Securities p3, p4
Bear, Stearns p3
Beecken Petty & Company p3
Bellflower Dental p8
BioDelivery Sciences p4
Biogen Idec p6
BioLucent p8
BioRelix p5
BioSET p11
Biotechnology Value Fund p14
BioVeda China p9
BMDSys p11
Boston Scientific p5
Boulder Ventures p10
Bristol-Myers Squibb p2
C
C.E. Unterberg, Towbin p14
Cambridge Heart p4
Cardica p14
CardioNet p6
Care Investment Trust p3
CB Richard Ellis p16
CDC p11
Center for Studying Health System Change p16
Cequent Pharmaceuticals p5
Changchun Xinan Pharma p8
Chem Rx p8
Chemizon p8
China Shenghuo Pharmaceuticals p3
CHL Medical Ventures p10
CHL Partners p10
Cholestech p8
CIBC World Markets p4
Clarus Ventures p6
CoGenesys p9
Coley Pharmaceutical p8
CompBenefits p8
Concentra p8
Cornell Capital Partners p9
Covington Invstmnts. p8
Cowen & Co. p13
Credit Suisse p3
Cross Creek Capital p11
Cytogen p14
D
Delphi Ventures p10
Dendreon p12
DeNovo Ventures p10
Deupree Health Care p8
Digene Corp. p7
E
Easton Capital p11
Elan Pharma p9
Eli Lilly & Company p12
Elm Street Ventures p10
Elron Electronic Industries p5
Emeritus Assisted Living p4
EndoCeutics p4
Essex Woodlands p6
Essex Woodlands Health Ventures p10
EUSA Pharma p6
F
Fisk Ventures p11
Franklin & Seidelmann p10
Fresenius Medical Care p16
Friedli Corporate Finance p14
G
Galen Partners p11
Gemma Frisius Fund p11
Gentis p11
GenVault p11
GlaxoSmithKline p5
GlycoMimetics p9
Goldman, Sachs p6
Grandix Pharmaceuticals p8
Greatbatch p5
H
HALT Medical p11
Hatteras Venture Partners p11
Health Resources and Services Administration p16
HealthCare Ventures p15
HealthCare.com p11
Heron Capital p11
HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Prepared p16
Hollinger Group p8
Hologic p8
Hudson Manor p8
Human Genome Sciences p9
Humana p8
I
IAG Research p16
Iapyx Medical p9
IDM Pharma p12
Ilypsa p8
Integra Ventures p11
Integrated BioPharma p4
Intelect Medical p5
Intersouth Partners p10, p11
InterWest Partners p10
Inventages Venture Capital p11
Inverness Medical p8
Ipsen p10
ISTA Pharmaceuticals p13
Ivy Capital p11
J
Jazz Pharmaceuticals p3
Jefferies & Company p5
JMP Securities p14
Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation p5
K
Kensey Nash p8
Kiadis Pharma p11
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. p3
L
Lazard Freres p13
LD Pensions p10
Lehman Brothers p13
Lehman Brothers Venture Partners p3
Leucadia National Corporation p6
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals p14
Liberty Dialysis p8
Lilly Asian Ventures p9
Lilly Ventures p5
Lion Corporation p2
Logical Therapeutics p10
M
Map Pharmaceuticals p4
Massachusetts Department of Health p15
MC Life Science Ventures p9
Mediphase Venture Partners p10
Medisystems p8
Mentor Corporation p8
Mercator Advisory Group p16
Merck KGaA p5
Merck Serono p9
Merrill Lynch p3, p4
Merriman Curhan Ford p4
MicroIslet p14
Micromet p14
MicuRx Pharmaceuticals p9
Millennium Pharmacy Systems p5, p10
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group p6
Moberg Derma p11
Montagu Newhall Associates p10
Morgan Stanley p4
Morgenthaler Ventures p15
Morningside Group p11
MPM BioEquities p13
MVM Life Science Partners p10
N
National Healthcare Safety Network p15
National Kidney Foundation p16
National Securities Corp. p13
NeoGenomics p14
NeoMed Management p10
Newbury Ventures p11
NextBio p11
NimbleGen Systems p8
NLV Partners p1
Noble Financial Group p14
NovaQuest p6
Novartis Option Fund p5
Novartis Venture Fund p5
Nuvelo p9
NxStage Medical p8
O
Oak Investment Partners p10
Olympus Medical Systems p6
ONI Medical Systems p11
Onyx Pharmaceuticals p4
Operation Blessing China p16
Optomagic Co. p8
OrbiMed Advisors p6, p11
Orphan Medical p3
Ortec International p14
Osiris Therapeutics p14
Osteologix p14
P
Pac-Link Bio Venture Capital p10
Pacific Horizon Ventures p11
Palo Alto Investors p10
Pappas Ventures p11
Par Pharmaceutical p8
Paracor Medical p10
Paramount Acquisition p8
Pearl Street Ventures p9
Pequot Capital p11
Pequot Ventures p10
Peregrine Pharmaceuticals p12
Perouse Plastie p8
Perseus-Soros p15
Pfizer p9
Pfizer Research Technology Center p9
Phytomedics p11
Piper Jaffray p3
Pocared Diagnostics p5
PolyTherics p11
Portola Pharmaceuticals p6
ppoNEXT p8
PregLem p10
Pro-Pharmaceuticals p14
Prolog Ventures p11
Prospect Venture Partners p10
pSivida p14
PTV Sciences p11
Q
QIAGEN, NV p7
Quaker BioVentures p11
Quality Assured Services p8
Quest for Growth p11
R
RA Capital Management p13
Radius Ventures p13
Raymond James p4
RBC Capital p14
RBC Capital Markets p3
Regado Biosciences p9
Remedent p14
Remon Medical p8
Renovo p7
Replidyne p15
Ritchie Capital p10
Robert Baird p4
Roche Holding AG p8
Rodman & Renshaw p12
ROXRO Pharma p10
RWI Ventures p10
S
S.R. One, Limited p5
SAC Capital Associates p11
Safeguard Scientifics p6
Saratoga Partners p4
Saratoga Ventures p10
Schering-Plough p6
SCP Vitalife Partners p11
Seaflower Ventures p10
Sepracor p16
Serenex p5
Shire plc p7
Shire, plc p8
Siemens Venture Capital p5
Sientra p6
Singulex p11
Skyline Ventures p11
Sofinnova Partners p10
Southridge Capital Management p14
Stifel Nicolaus p3
Strategic Investments Group of Pfizer p9
Strides Arcolab p8
Summerville Senior Living p4
Sutter Hill Ventures p10
Symphony Capital Partners p14
T
Takeda Pharmaceuticals p16
Takeda Research Investment p9, p10
Tapestry Pharma p4
Targanta Therapeutics p6
Tepha p5
Theragenics p4
Thoma Cressey Equity Partners p3
TIAA-CREF p6
Tutogen Medical p4
U
U-Systems p5
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services p16
UBS Investment Bank p3
UCB p3
Union Dental p8
V
Ventures West p11
Versant Ventures p3
Vertical Group p11
Viamet Pharmaceuticals p11
Vicor Technologies p4
Viragen p4
Vitacost.com p4
W
Wachovia Securities p3
WaferGen Bio-Systems p14
Water Street Capital p8
Wellington Partners p11
Westfield Capital p11
WestPark Capital p3
Z
ZARS Pharma p4
Ziegler Meditech Equity Partners p6, p11
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Pain Management Gains Momentum-
Market for Pain Products Attracts Growing Share of Venture Capital
Email Editor
Perhaps the one symptom that
drives people to the doctor more than any other is pain, and one recent
estimate is that the market for pain management medications is at least
$26 billion. Companies in this space are endeavoring to develop new pain
management therapies with greater efficacy and better safety profiles than
the products that are currently on the market. Venture capitalists have
been investing steadily in the future of pain management; meanwhile, two
familiar old over-the-counter pain management drugs are back in focus on
the M&A market this month. We talked with Philippe Chambon, a managing
director of NLV Partners, about why companies working on new pain
medications are appealing to health care investors. “One reason everybody
is so attracted to the pain market is because it’s so large, yet there are
many discreet markets,” Mr. Chambon observed. “For example, there is mild
to moderate pain, there is more severe pain such as arthritis, and at the
extreme end of the market, very severe pain such as with cancer.” He
continued, “Companies face different types of challenges, depending on
what segment of the market is being targeted.” Indeed, pain medications
range from over-the-counter products to myriad prescription products with
different potencies, addictive qualities and other characteristic factors,
and pain drugs may be administered for a variety of indications, including
maintenance of a condition, or before or after surgery.
The business objective of
any given company in this space varies depending on the market being
targeted, and there is always the challenge of balancing safety profiles
against efficacy. NLV Partners is regularly looking at opportunities in
pain management, but not investing in the mild-to-moderate side of the
pain market because proving the safety of such products is very costly.
“We are looking particularly at pain therapeutics for cancer, as well as
severe arthritis and sometimes, post-operative, acute settings,” Mr.
Chambon explained. With such conditions, certain side effects may be less
important to patients and doctors if a product works. “Efficacy is the
first goal of drugs for the most severe pain,” he noted. “What we want are
products that have the pain-killing properties of opioids, but don’t have
the central effect of opioids at the brain level,” he said, or in other
words, don’t have the same potential for addiction.
Painkillers have also spawned and fueled secondary markets, such as the
need for drugs to treat opioid-induced constipation, drugs specifically
for pediatric patients, for health care services organizations that
specialize in pain management, and from a broader perspective, the need
for treatment services related to prescription drug addiction. In
addition, biotechnology discoveries could lead to the identification of
biomarkers that determine how well an individual patient will respond to a
specific drug. Looking at all the venture capital deals announced by
companies engaged in the development of compounds for the treatment of
pain and related activities, we found that from the beginning of 2003
through the end of June 2007, there were 65 rounds announced totaling
practically $1.5 billion. Furthermore, 25% of the total dollar funding was
reported during the first half of 2007, suggesting momentum has been
building and investing increasing in this space during recent months.
About 58% of the total funding was pumped into pharmaceutical companies,
another 28% to biotechs and biopharmas, 11% to health care services and
the remaining percentage to medical device and e-health companies.
Several biotechs and biopharmas are currently developing product
candidates for various pain indications, ranging from mild to severe, and
chronic pain, and conditions such as fibromyalgia. However, Mr. Chambon
said, “We are seeing lots of activity in terms of new technology, but
there is not enough clinical evidence yet to make any one very
compelling.” The exit opportunities appear to be compelling for investors
though, since on the M&A side, as he observed, “Large pharmaceutical
companies are obviously looking at these types of companies, and we are
always looking at the companies we invest in to be sure they could be
attractive as acquisition candidates.” Even products that have been on the
market for years can command a high valuation in today’s market, as
evidenced by the late June acquisition of the rights to Bufferin and
Excedrin by Lion Corporation (PK: LIOPF). Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY)
sold the rights to the two analgesics in Japan, Asia (excluding China and
Taiwan) and certain Oceanic countries to Japan-based Lion for $247
million. On the IPO side, it is generally advantageous to have a product
that addresses a problem that is easily understood—and everyone can
definitely identify with pain. Surely if a company comes up with a product
that’s better than any other type of painkiller currently on the market,
we will all want to know about it—and the backers of such a product’s
development will likely become very happy investors.
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