New Drug Discovery Company NeRRe Therapeutics Created to Develop Neurokinin Antagonists from GSK
11.5 million GBP Series A Financing from Novo A/S and Advent Venture Partners
London, UK, December 19, 2012 / B3C newswire / - NeRRe Therapeutics Ltd, is launched today to develop a portfolio of clinical and pre-clinical neurokinin receptor antagonists divested from GlaxoSmithKline (“GSK”).
NeRRe has raised £11.5 million ($18.4 million) in Series A financing to support the progression of these molecules into clinical studies in diseases for which there is substantial unmet medical need.
The initial focus of the funding is on the most advanced neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist in this pipeline which is being repositioned for a new indication.
The Company founders, Dr Emiliangelo Ratti and Dr Mike Trower, are both former senior leaders of neurosciences drug discovery at GSK and have intimate knowledge of the transferred assets and the neurokinin field. Dr Ratti will become Chief Executive Officer of NeRRe and Dr Trower will take the role of Chief Scientific Officer.
NeRRe Therapeutics’ shareholders include Novo A/S (Novo), Advent Venture Partners (AVP), and GSK. Dr Martin Edwards (Novo Ventures) and Dr Raj Parekh (AVP) will each join NeRRe’s Board.
The Company will be based at the state-of-the-art Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, the UK's first open innovation bioscience campus.
Commenting on today’s launch of NeRRe, Dr Emiliangelo Ratti, Chief Executive Officer, said: "I am extremely excited about the prospect of progressing further the development of NeRRe’s neurokinin receptor antagonist pipeline. With our knowledge and insights into the neurokinin receptor system, we look forward to developing these assets in high value indications where there is unmet need. I am pleased to acknowledge the strong support received from GSK to launch this new enterprise together with the commitment received from our investors, who share our belief in the potential of the company’s portfolio."
About NeRRe Therapeutics
NeRRe Therapeutics was formed in November 2012 and is focussed on
the development of neurokinin receptor antagonists acquired from
GlaxoSmithKline (“GSK”). NeRRe is led by the company
founders, Dr Emiliangelo Ratti, Chief Executive Officer and Dr Mike
Trower, Chief Scientific Officer; who together have extensive
experience in the neurokinin field. NeRRe Therapeutics is funded by
leading life science investors, Novo A/S and Advent Venture
Partners.
About Novo A/S
Novo A/S is the holding company of the Novo Group, and is wholly
owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation. It was established in 1999 to
manage the assets of the foundation and actively make investments
on its behalf. Novo Ventures is the part of Novo A/S focused on
life sciences venture capital, and is active in both Europe and
North America. The firm has four partners in Copenhagen, one in
London and three in San Francisco. With an evergreen structure, it
annually invests approximately $100M in venture capital into
private life sciences companies. For more information, visit:
www.novo.dk
About Advent Venture Partners
Advent Life Sciences is the dedicated Life Sciences team at Advent
Venture Partners, one of Europe’s best established growth and
venture capital firms. Advent Life Sciences invests predominantly
in early-stage and growth equity life sciences companies in the UK,
Europe and the US. It will back companies that have a first- or
best-in-class approach in a range of sectors within the life
sciences sector, including new drug discovery, enabling
technologies, med-tech and diagnostics.
Advent Life Sciences is a leader in European life sciences venture capital. Its investments include: PowderMed, a therapeutic DNA vaccine company sold to Pfizer; Thiakis, an obesity treatment company acquired by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals; Respivert, a drug discovery company focused on respiratory diseases that was acquired by Johnson & Johnson; EUSA Pharma, a transatlantic speciality pharmaceutical company acquired by Jazz Pharmaceuticals; Avila Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing targeted covalent drugs acquired by Celgene Corporation, Micromet, a biotechnology company acquired by Amgen and Algeta (OSE: ALGETA), an oncology company developing treatments for bone metastases and disseminated tumours.
For more information about NeRRe Therapeutics, please contact:
Dr Emiliangelo Ratti
Chief Executive Officer
Tel : +39 348 2690238
Posted: December 2012
