MARTINSRIED, Germany, April 22, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Apovia AG, the biopharmaceutical company focused on the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases through vaccines, today announced the closing of a EUR 19 million (U.S. $17.1 million) third round financing led by Heidelberg Innovation. Other investors include Genavent, Societe Generale Asset Management and VCH Equity Group AG as well as the existing investors 3i, Global Life Science Holding II GmbH and Oxford Bioscience Partners and private individuals. Arthur Andersen Corporate Finance acted as advisers to Apovia.
Apovia will use the funding to validate its CorVax(r) technology in humans and to further develop the Company's product pipeline of pre-clinical and clinical candidates. Mr. Berthold Hackl, Managing Partner of Heidelberg Innovation and Dr. Thomas Taapken, Managing Director of Genavent, will join Apovia's Supervisory Board.
Dr. Martin Steiner, CEO of Apovia AG commented: "The continued level of interest that Apovia has received from investors is a clear endorsement of our CorVax(r) technology and business strategy. We are now in a strong position to rapidly progress our lead vaccine candidates, which promises to be a major breakthrough in the treatment of infectious diseases, into clinical trials."
"Apovia's strong preclinical data from their lead products, as well as the progress the Company has made over the last twelve to eighteen months, has been exceptionally impressive," commented Mr. Berthold Hackl of Heidelberg Innovation. "This has been acknowledged by the investment community and has led to strong financial support for the management team to carry out their objectives."
Apovia's product candidates are based on its proprietary CorVax(r) technology. CorVax(r) is a potent antigen delivery and carrier platform that stimulates high levels of antibody production and primes cellular immunity. The Company believes that CorVax's potency, cost and ease of manufacture and anticipated safety profile will enable it to address diseases of global significance such as malaria, influenza, otitis media and meningitis. CorVax(r) has the potential of delivering to the immune system a wide variety of bacterial, viral, parasitic and fungal antigens in a manner, which induce high levels of antibodies. The vaccines market is in store for a renaissance and Apovia is in a good position to become a leader in this field, leveraging its universal carrier technology.
Apovia is a biopharmaceutical Company focused on the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases through vaccines based on its CorVax(r) carrier platform. The Company maintains laboratories at its headquarters in Martinsried, Germany as well as at its subsidiary Apovia Inc. in San Diego, California. Apovia's product candidates under development include vaccines against malaria, influenza, otitis media and bacterial meningitis.
Notes for Editors:
Heidelberg Innovation GmbH was founded in 1997 and manages three venture funds with a total of EUR 125 million for investment in private equity exclusively for biotechnology/life sciences, health-related and medical device companies in Western Europe. The experienced management team has a proven track record in pharma, biotech and venture funding.
Oxford Bioscience Partners (OBP) is a life science venture capital firm that provides equity financing and management assistance to start-up and early-stage, entrepreneurial-driven companies in the bioscience and healthcare industries. The General Partners of OBP currently manage venture funds with combined committed capital of more than U.S. $ 870 million. The General Partners of Oxford Bioscience Partners have achieved considerable success and above average returns in the bioscience/ healthcare industries over the past 15 years through investments in more than 100 companies.
Societe Generale Asset Management is the global investment management division of Societe Generale, one of Europe's leading banks. Through its ambitious growth policy in Europe and around the world, SG Asset Management now employs around 1900 people worldwide and manages assets amounting to over EUR 258 billion. SG Asset Management's private equity department is managed by a dedicated specialist team.
Genavent - In 2000 SG Asset Management and Aventis joined forces to create a new venture capital fund called Genavent. Initially the fund size was EUR 30 million. This fund invests in companies in areas such as genomics, biochemistry and chemistry or companies with advanced technologies which provide access to new medicines, vaccines or agricultural products. The fund is subscribed by Aventis and SG Asset Management.
Global Life Science Limited Partnership is an independent venture capital partnership co-founded and sponsored initially by a family holding prominent in the field of life science and two major financial institutions. Registered in Guernsey in October 1996, its capital increased to EUR 66,5 million through subscriptions from an exclusive group of private investors, a fund-in-fund and a healthcare insurance as limited partners as well as a commitment from KfW.
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. 3i invests in businesses across three continents through local investment teams in Europe, Asia Pacific and the USA. To date, 3i has invested over 14 billion pounds (including co-investment funds). In the 6 months to September 30, 2001, an average of 4.8 million pounds (including co-investment funds) was invested each working day.
VCH Equity Group AG is a financial management company active in the fields of venture capital, asset management and corporate finance with the intention of providing the bridge between private and public markets. Investments and projects involve high-tech companies focusing on new media, new technologies or life sciences. Currently the company's venture capital portfolio consists of eight companies. The VCH venture capital funds have a size of approximately EUR 35 million including fund-in-fund investments.
Andersen Corporate Finance is specialized on providing advice on different kinds of transactions such as disposals and divestitures, mergers & acquisitions, private placements, privatization's etc. within a broad range of industry sectors. We rank among the top M&A consultancies worldwide and have a dedicated focus on private equity and venture capital transactions. We maximize values for corporates as well as for private equity and venture capital houses in trade sale, divestment and placement situations and have worked for leading companies in the field with an outstanding track record.