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Athenagen Adds A. Barr
Dolan to its Board of Directors
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA – FEBRUARY
22, 2006
Athenagen Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical
company, announced today that A. Barr Dolan has joined its
Board of Directors in conjunction with the closing of its Series
A financing. In September 2005, Sanderling Ventures led the
first tranche with participation from Life Science Angels,
raising $3.19 million, and Sanderling also committed to invest
an additional $2.5 million upon meeting certain milestones.
Since then, the Company has met the required milestones and
received the additional committed $2.5 million, as well as
$2.0 million from new investor Charter Life Sciences, the first
dedicated life sciences fund in the Charter Ventures family
of venture capital funds.
"We have made great progress since
receiving our initial funding last fall," stated W. Scott
Harkonen, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer. "Our
two lead drug candidates are advancing through preclinical
development, with clinical trials planned to begin later this
year. In addition, we established a research facility and corporate
headquarters in South San Francisco, and filled several key
positions in research and development."
"Charter Life Sciences is pleased to
have the opportunity to be an early investor in Athenagen,
a young company with a promising near-term clinical pipeline
of compounds for treating age-related macular degeneration
and non-healing wounds," commented Mr. Dolan. "The
company's technology, focused on agents that target the nAChR
pathway, could represent a novel class of drugs to treat diseases
characterized by abnormal angiogenesis." About Athenagen
Athenagen Inc., located in South San Francisco,
is engaged in the development of small-molecule drugs designed
to either inhibit or enhance angiogenesis, based on the discovery
of a new endothelial cell angiogenesis pathway, known as the
nAChR pathway. Athenagen's lead products are being developed
as oral and topical compounds to treat diseases caused by enhanced
angiogenesis, such as cancer and age-related macular degeneration
(AMD), as well as topical formulations to treat diseases caused
by impaired angiogenesis, such as non-healing wounds. Athenagen
plans to introduce two drug candidates into the clinic in 2006:
ATG002, a topical pro-angiogenesis compound for diabetic foot
ulcers and ATG001, an anti-angiogenesis compound, for exudative
AMD.
For more information: www.athenagen.com.
CONTACT:
W. Scott Harkonen, M.D.
President and CEO
(650) 869-7600
press@athenagen.com
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