LEIDEN, The Netherlands and SEATTLE, May 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ProFibrix B.V., a leader in the development of innovative products that help stop bleeding (hemostasis) after surgery, today announced the successful closing of a series B follow-on financing. In conjunction with the financing and to support the company's next stage of development towards commercialization, ProFibrix also announced several management and Supervisory Board appointments.
The Supervisory Board will be chaired by independent director Leonard Kruimer, Chief Financial Officer of Crucell. Over the past decade, Mr. Kruimer has been instrumental in building Crucell from an entrepreneurial start-up into a global vaccine company, taking the company public and leading a number of large and successful M&A transactions. Also joining the Supervisory Board as an independent director is Vic Schmitt. Mr. Schmitt has been a long-time senior executive at Baxter International, a key player in the hemostasis market, where he last served as President of Venture Management.
In addition to these high profile appointments to the Supervisory Board, Jan Ohrstrom, has been named Chief Executive Officer. Before joining ProFibrix, Dr. Ohrstrom was a senior executive at ZymoGenetics, where he was responsible for the development of several products, and a member of the team that took the company public. Dr. Ohrstrom started his career at Novo Nordisk.Jaap Koopman, founding CEO of ProFibrix, will become Chief Scientific Officer.
In addition to the private funding the company was awarded a government credit, bringing the total new funds available to the company for the progression of Fibrocaps(TM) to EUR 15 million (USD 22 million). New investors Vesalius Biocapital and INKEF Capital co-led the financing round, while existing investors Index Ventures and Gilde Healthcare Partners also participated. Alain Parthoens from Vesalius Biocapital, Dirk Kersten from Gilde Healthcare Partners, and Francesco De Rubertis from Index Ventures will also hold seats on the board of ProFibrix.
The proceeds of the financing will be used to progress the company's lead product Fibrocaps into late stage clinical development, as well as to support the company's other pipeline programs. Fibrocaps is currently being investigated in a prospective, multi-center Phase II study in multiple surgical indications at up to 20 sites, including major U.S. and Dutch academic medical centers. If this study confirms the positive results of the first Phase II trial, ProFibrix anticipates initiating a pivotal Phase III trial in early 2012, and file for approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in early 2013.
Jan Ohrstrom, MD, said: "We are very pleased to welcome Vesalius Biocapital and INKEF Capital to our investor base. Our successful financing and strengthened Supervisory Board and leadership team should put ProFibrix in an excellent position to continue the development of Fibrocaps and prepare for its commercial launch. We would like to extend our gratitude to the parting board members for their contribution and commitment to the early development of ProFibrix."
Jaap Koopman said: "Jan Ohrstrom has played a key role in transitioning ProFibrix to a market-focused company. He has the capabilities and skills to take ProFibrix through its next stages of growth to become a leading hemostasis company. I look forward to seconding him in his new role as CEO, and to continue to contribute to the development of new products based on our fibrinogen technology platform."
No comments:
Post a Comment