PRESS RELEASE Jerini AG Completes 20 Million Euro Private Placement Berlin, November 13, 2001 - The Berlin based biotech company Jerini AG announced today that it has successfully raised a 20 million Euro Series B round of private financing. It was jointly led by TVM Techno Venture Management (Munich, Germany), 3i (London, UK) and PolyTechnos Funds (Munich, Germany). Further participants in this round are Sanders Morris Harris' LifeSciences Opportunity Fund (New York/Houston, United States) as well as Jerini's previous investors IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft (Berlin, Germany) and tbg (Bonn, Germany).
"We are proud to be working with such a high-quality group of investors," said Jerini CEO Dr. Jens Schneider-Mergener. "TVM, 3i and PolyTechnos bring technical as well as strategic expertise and excellent international contacts to Jerini. We will work together to position the company as a leading drug development and platform technology company. The strengthened financial base will be used to accelerate Jerini's in-house drug discovery programs at various stages. The company will enter one compound into Phase II clinical trials in mid-2002."
Jerini is a drug discovery company performing systematic transformation of peptide leads, based on its technology platform, into drug-like structures. The company will apply the proceeds of this round to improving its proprietary peptide/peptidomimetic array technology SPOT™. This unique technology enables the efficient mapping of protein-protein interactions, identification of peptidic inhibitors and their transformation into drug-like compounds. Jerini recently launched its novel enzyme substrate chips to support and accelerate drug discovery programs for kinases, proteases and other enzymes.
"Jerini has unique strengths in drug discovery and peptide arrays," commented Dr. Hubert Birner, Principal of TVM in Munich. "We are convinced that the company will discover drugs that would not be found by others and take these drugs into clinical development. Based on the dedication of Dr. Schneider-Mergener and the other members of his management team, TVM sees the potential for great success."
"We are confident in our Jerini investment" says Dr. Klaus Stoeckemann, Investment Manager of 3i in Berlin. "We are impressed with both the technical strengths and the commercial advantages that the company provides. This financing is evidence that the market will continue to support great companies with the amounts of capital that will make them successful."
Adds Pierre Hochuli, Managing Partner of PolyTechnos, "In a difficult environment, PolyTechnos is happy to provide substantial
financial and strategic support to a world-class company together with a strong international syndicate of investors. Similar to antibodies over the years, peptides as therapeutics have gone through phases of hype and disillusionment. Today, their strong therapeutic potential is no longer in dispute."
In conjunction with this financing round, Jerini's board will be expanded and strengthened by three additional board members: Pierre Hochuli from PolyTechnos, an as yet unnamed representative from the pharmaceutical industry, and Dr. Hubert Birner from TVM, who becomes Vice Chairman. They join Board Chairman Dr. Karl-Gerhard Seifert (Chairman and CEO of AllessaChemie GmbH, Frankfurt), and board members Oliver Borrmann (CEO of bmp AG, Berlin) and Dr. Stephan Goetz (Managing Director of CEA, Munich). About Jerini
Jerini AG is an innovative drug discovery company located in Berlin, Germany. Based on its proprietary SPOT™ and chip technologies, Jerini focuses on the identification of peptide leads and their systematic transformation into drug-like structures. Jerini has a staff of 75 and is supported by international and domestic investors.
For more information, please visit www.Jerini.com. About TVM
TVM, founded in 1983, is one of the first venture capital funds formed in Germany, and a leader in transatlantic operations. The German-U.S. venture capital company has offices in Munich, Boston and San Francisco. For many years, TVM has focused on information technology and life sciences, high growth sectors where innovation, effective management and sound financial backing have enormous impact on company growth. TVM funds have made investments in 200 technology companies in Europe and the United States. A pivotal objective is to create transnational businesses that enjoy access to science, management talent and capital on both sides of the Atlantic. About 3i
3i brings capital, knowledge and connections to the creation and development of businesses around the world. It invests in a wide range of opportunities from start-ups to buy-outs and buy-ins, focusing on businesses with high growth potential and strong management throughout different sectors as for example communications and healthcare.
3i invests in businesses across three continents through local investment team in Europe, Asia Pacific and the USA. In the healthcare sector 3i made its first investments in the mid-80's. There are currently over 160 healthcare companies in the 3i international investment portfolio. To date, 3i has backed over 40 healthcare businesses to floatation on several international exchanges. About PolyTechnos Venture-Partners
PolyTechnos Venture-Partners ("PolyTechnos") was founded in 1998 and focuses on investments in start-up and early stage, high-growth companies in the area of Life Sciences, Technology and particularly their interfaces, within Germany and other European countries. PolyTechnos' value-added support for portfolio companies includes: strategy formulation, top-level industry networks, intellectual property positioning, corporate governance, and human resource development. About LifeSciences Opportunity Fund
LifeSciences Opportunity Fund (LOF) was founded in 2001 and is focused on early stage life science companies. It is one of Sanders Morris Harris, Inc. private equity investment funds. About IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH
IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH founded in 1997, is a Berlin based high tech early stage fund with a portfolio of 45 companies. 6118 characters/ 887 words |
