Amaranth Medical Closes
$7.5 Million Series A Financing to Advance the Development
of Bio-Absorbable Stents
PALO ALTO , CA and SINGAPORE (MARKET WIRE) – SEPTEMBER
26, 2006
Amaranth Medical, Inc., a developer of bio-absorbable
stents for peripheral and coronary vascular applications, today
announced the closing of a $7.5 million Series A financing
led by Bio*One Capital of Singapore and Charter Life Sciences
of Palo Alto, California.
The proceeds of this financing will be used
to advance the company's bio-absorbable stents into human clinic
trials. The company has developed a bio-absorbable urinary
stent which will enter clinic trials shortly. The company's
bio-absorbable vascular stents are expected to enter clinical
trials in 2007, initially for the treatment of peripheral vascular
disease ("PVD"). PVD is a major disease in developed
countries, afflicting from 12 to 20 percent of people over
the age of 65 in countries such as the United States, where
PVD currently afflicts eight million people. Current treatment
techniques, including metal stents, are only partially effective,
and severe PVD, if not effectively treated, can result in limb
amputation. Approximately 200,000 amputations take place in
the United States each year as a result of limb ischemia. Metal
stents have a history of high fracture rates in the treatment
of PVD, and Amaranth's polymeric stents are expected to be
much more durable than metal stents. Amaranth's stents also
have the great advantage of being bio-absorbable, so that stent
treatment of the PVD affected vessel can be repeated if the
vasculature closes again after time (restenosis), while re-treatment
of the same portion of the vasculature is extremely difficult
or impossible after treatment with a metal stent.
Amaranth's core technology involves proprietary
methods of creating bio-absorbable polymeric stents which offer
a number of benefits over the metal stents currently in use.
Amaranth's stents are self-expanding at body temperature, fully
biodegradable, biocompatible, flexible, able to withstand multiple
stresses and able to elute relatively large quantities of different
drugs in multiple directions to prevent restenosis and enhance
vessel repair.
Amaranth's technology was developed over
several years by a team of researchers led by Professor Freddy
Boey and Professor Subbu Venkatraman at Nanyang Technological
University ("NTU") in Singapore. Professor Boey is
the Chair of the School of Materials Science and Engineering
at NTU and has many years of experience in materials development
and engineering. Professor Venkatraman's notable career in
polymer science includes over 20 years of product development
experience with Silicon Valley companies, including Alza and
Raychem, and he is now the Associate Chair of the School of
Materials Science and Engineering at NTU. The company has been
granted a worldwide exclusive license to this technology by
NTU.
Amaranth was originally seeded in Singapore
by Bio*One Capital Pte Ltd in 2005. The company's research,
development and manufacturing facilities are located in Singapore,
while the headquarters of the company are currently located
in the offices of Charter Life Sciences in Palo Alto, California.
Fred M. Schwarzer, managing director of Charter Life Sciences,
serves as the chairman of Amaranth, and a search is ongoing
for a chief executive officer of the company.
Mr. Schwarzer stated, "We are very
excited by the potential for Amaranth's technology in the extremely
large vascular stent market, including the near-term potential
to address the unmet medical needs of peripheral vascular disease.
Innovative technology is being developed around the world,
and we are pleased to be able to help develop this technology
from Singapore for the benefit of patients worldwide."
Ms. Swee-Yeok Chu, CEO of Bio*One Capital,
stated, "Amaranth exemplifies how Singapore-grown companies
with novel and innovative technology can leverage on the strong
biomedical sciences capabilities and infrastructure available
in Singapore and concurrently access the capital resources
available in the United States. Bio*One Capital is pleased
to co-lead this financing round and play an important role
in the growth and development of this company."
Professor Boey stated, "I am especially
pleased with the strong support from Bio*One Capital in founding
Amaranth and that a technology wholly developed in Singapore
is able to attract substantial funding from an experienced
Silicon Valley venture capital investor like Charter Life Sciences."
The board of directors of Amaranth Medical
consists of Mr. Fred Schwarzer, Dr. Freddy Boey, Dr. Guy Heathers,
interim chief executive officer of Amaranth, Dr. Nelson Teng,
managing director of Charter Life Sciences, Dr. Jui Lim, director
of Bio*One Capital, and Dr. Lawrence Chin, director of Bio*One
Capital.
About Amaranth Medical
Amaranth Medical was originally incorporated in 2005 to commercialize the research
of Professors Freddy Boey and Subbu Venkatraman at the School of Materials
Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University. The company has
developed a stent for use in ameliorating blockage of the ureter caused by
diseases of the urinary tract. This stent has been tested in animal trials
and will shortly enter human clinical trials. Amaranth is currently looking
for partners to market this uretric product while the company is refocusing
its attention on the development of stents for alleviating vascular disease,
both peripheral vascular disease and coronary vascular disease, which is a
far larger market.
About Bio*One Capital Pte Ltd
Bio*One Capital is a leading, dedicated biomedical sciences investment management
company in Asia with a worldwide presence. With funds of over US$600 million,
investments are focused on promising and innovative global biomedical companies
where Bio*One Capital can play a value adding role in bridging and supporting
companies' growth strategies in Asia through their operations in Singapore.
A part of the Singapore Economic Development Board, Bio*One Capital oversees
a portfolio of over 60 companies in U.S., Europe, Singapore and Asia. For more
information, please visit www.bio1capital.com.
About Charter Life
Sciences
Charter Life Sciences is a venture capital fund headquartered in Palo Alto,
California which specializes in early stage life sciences investments. For
more information, please visit www.clsvc.com.
About Nanyang Technological
University
Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is a research-intensive university with
globally acknowledged strengths in science and engineering. Ranked among the
top 50 universities in the world, NTU has in place multi-country programs and
initiatives with established institutions worldwide. NTU has 4 colleges, comprising
12 schools. The College of Engineering, with six schools focused on technology
innovation, enjoys wide renown and currently ranks fourth in the world in engineering
publications. The College of Science is at the forefront of Singapore's life
sciences and science initiatives, while the Nanyang Business School offers
one of the world's top 100 MBA programs. The College of Humanities and Arts
boasts Singapore's first professional art school offering degree courses in
art, design and interactive digital media, the Humanities and Social Science
School, and the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, one of
the best communication and information schools in Asia. The 13th school, S
Rajaratnam School of International Studies, will be inaugurated in 2007. An
important component of this autonomous school is the Institute of Defence and
Strategic Studies, long recognized as a world authority on terrorism. NTU is
also home to the internationally acclaimed National Institute of Education,
Singapore's only teacher-training institute. For more information, please visit www.ntu.edu.sg.
CONTACT - USA:
Amaranth Medical, Inc. and Charter Life Sciences
Fred M. Schwarzer
525 University Avenue, Suite 1400
Palo Alto, CA, USA
+1 650 325 6953
www.clsvc.com
CONTACT - SINGAPORE:
Bio*One Capital Pte Ltd
Sheo S. Rai
Marketing Communications
20 Biopolis Way #09-01 Centros
Singapore 138668
+65 6395 7784
Email
Contact
Nanyang Technological University
Jackie Yu
Corporate Communications
50 Nanyang Ave, Admin Bldg Level 1
Singapore 639798
+65 6790 5417
Email
Contact
Amaranth Medical Pte Ltd
Guy Heathers
Chief Executive Officer
Nanyang Polytechnic BioInnovation Centre
180 Ang Mo Kio Ave 8
Blk Q, Unit 505
Singapore 569830
+65 6554 5120
Email
Contact
|
