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• FOVEA Pharmaceuticals Enter into a Research Collaboration in Ophthalmology with GENZYME Corporation
[ english version pdf ]
[ english version pdf ]
Paris, France - November 27, 2007.
FOVEA Pharmaceuticals SA. announced today that they have entered into a Collaborative Research Agreement with GENZYME Corporation (NASDAQ: GENZ). The alliance is anchored around Fovea s proprietary high content technology platform that allows the identification of new targets involved in photoreceptor degeneration in retinal dystrophies. The companies will collaborate to develop gene related therapies using Fovea selected targets and Genzyme gene delivery technologies.
The ultimate cause of irreversible blindness in major retinal diseases is photoreceptor degeneration. According to the Foundation Fighting Blindness, rare inherited retinal dystrophies like Stargardt s Disease or Retinitis Pigmentosa are recognized as one of the most common inherited causes of blindness in people below the age of 50, affecting approximately 1.5 million people worldwide. In addition, in more common retinal disorders like the dry form of Age related Macular Degeneration, sight loss also results ultimately from photoreceptor degeneration.
In this complementary partnership, Fovea s scientific, clinical and pharmaceutical expertise in retinal diseases and Genzyme's extensive know-how in protein production and gene delivery will offer customized solutions for the understanding of the disease mechanisms, with the goal to develop new therapeutic strategies to prevent or reduce the severity of blindness.
"This first Research Partnership signed with Genzyme demonstrates the interest of our proprietary discovery platform," said Bernard Gilly, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FOVEA. "This collaboration underscores the substantial opportunity that our expertise in retinal diseases and unique platform provide to increase the efficiency and probability of success in ophthalmology drug discovery and development."
Pr José-Alain Sahel, Professor of Ophthalmology, co-founder of FOVEA and Chairman of the SAB, said: Retinal dystrophies are a major cause of vision loss. This collaborative agreement with GENZYME will allow FOVEA s discovery team to leverage its resources to develop new targets that have been identified using the technology platform and will hopefully give the opportunity to translate these discoveries into care for patients affected with blinding orphan diseases.
About FOVEA:
Fovea Pharmaceuticals SA (Fovea) is a privately-held biopharmaceutical company specialized in development and commercialization of drugs for the treatment of ocular diseases (dry eye, age-related macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, diabetic retinopathy), with a special focus on retinal pathologies. Created in May 2005, Fovea has a highly experienced board and management team. Fovea has been funded by five leading European investors led by Sofinnova Partners and including Abingworth Management, The Wellcome Trust, GIMV and Crédit Agricole Private Equity.
FOVEA has built a project portfolio including internal research programs on dry AMD, glaucoma (neuroprotection), retinal dystrophies as well as clinical programs underway for such indications as macular edema, allergic conjunctivitis, or retinitis pigmentosa.
To advance the development and commercialization of its programs, FOVEA is working both independently and through collaborators including industrial partners like Novartis, Genzyme, CombinatoRx, as well as with academic teams, like the Inserm unit U592, the Rothschild Ophthalmological Foundation, and the Johns Hopkins University.
For additional information about FOVEA and its programs, please visit
www.fovea-pharma.com
Contact at Fovea Pharmaceuticals SA
Bernard Davitian
Chief Financial Officer
+33 1 44 16 42 61
info@fovea-pharma.com
About GENZYME:
One of the world's leading biotechnology companies, GENZYME is dedicated to making a major positive impact on the lives of people with serious diseases. Since 1981, the company has grown from a small start-up to a diversified enterprise with more 9 800 employees in locations spanning the globe and with 2006 revenues of $3.2 billion. GENZYME has been selected by FORTUNE as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work for" in the United States.
With many established products and services helping patients in nearly 90 countries, GENZYME is a leader in the effort to develop and apply the most advanced technologies in the life sciences. The company's products and services are focused on rare inherited disorders, kidney disease, orthopaedics, cancer, transplant, and diagnostic testing. GENZYME's commitment to innovation continues today with a substantial development program focused on these fields, as well as immune disease, infectious disease, and other areas of unmet medical need.
Contact Fovea Pharmaceuticals SA
Bernard Davitian
Chief Financial Officer
+33 1 44 16 42 61
info@fovea-pharma.com
Press Contact Fovea Phamaceuticals: EuroRSCG C&O
Marie Carole de Groc
+33 1 58 47 95 07
marie-carole.de-groc@eurorscg.fr
Press Contact Genzyme: Russo Partners, LLC
Wendy Lau
++1-212-845-4272
Wendy.lau@russopartnersllc.com
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• FOVEA Pharmaceuticals SA obtains exclusive worldwide rights on RdCVF protein therapy
[ english version pdf ]
Paris, France - January 15, 2007. – Fovea Pharmaceuticals SA (Fovea), a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapeutics in the field of Ophthalmology (www.fovea-pharma.com) announced today that they have signed an exclusive development and commercialization agreement with Novartis Pharma AG (Novartis) on RdCVF (“Rod derived Cone Viability Factor”), for the treatment of retinal degenerations.
RdCVF is one of the most promising new protein factors recognized for potential therapy of retinal degeneration. This factor was first identified under a research collaboration between INSERM (Paris-France) and Novartis. The RdCVF research team at Paris-based INSERM-ULP was led by Fovea co-founders, Pr José-Alain Sahel and Dr Thierry Léveillard. Through its license agreement with Novartis, Fovea will fund and conduct pre-clinical and clinical development of RdCVF up to its commercialization.
In exchange for its development efforts, Fovea received exclusive worldwide commercial rights to RdCVF protein therapy. Novartis can exercise a pre-negotiated one-time call back option, which includes an upfront payment and royalties to Fovea. Should Fovea successfully bring RdCVF to market, Novartis is eligible for development and regulatory milestone payments, as well as royalties on their sales. Additional financial terms are not released.
Pr José-Alain Sahel, Professor of Ophthalmology and co-founder of Fovea said: “This Licensing agreement with Novartis provides the team that has discovered RdCVF the opportunity to pursue work in translating its use into clinical care and patients. RdCVF has the potential to prevent cone cell death not only in Retinitis Pigmentosa, but potentially in other retinal degenerative conditions where no existing palliative or curative treatments exist”.
Retinal degenerations comprise a genetically heterogeneous group of retinal diseases very often leading to profound visual impairment or blindness, with more than one hundred causal genes identified so far. The potential of treatments employing RdCVF has applicability to different pathophysiological conditions where rod photoreceptors are initially affected and cones secondarily involved independent of the specific nature of causative mutation.
“Our mission is to develop and provide innovative products to treat ocular diseases and in particular those that affect the retina” said Bernard Gilly, President and CEO of Fovea. “This major in-licensing partnership with Novartis provides Fovea with a novel first-in-class drug that nicely complements our pipeline and contributes to further enhance the value to our shareholders. It also acknowledges Novartis’ recognition of Fovea’s Research and Development capabilities”.
RdCVF will first be developed in Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP). RP is recognized as one of the most common inherited causes of blindness in people below the age of 50, affecting 100,000 Americans, 100,000 Europeans and approximately 1.5 million people, worldwide. There is no known cure for RP. RP qualifies as an orphan disease, and represents a significant market opportunity. The development of RdCVF could also be extended to wider markets, including the highly prevalent atrophic form of Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD).
About RdCVF and Retinal Degenerative Diseases
Based upon a clinical hypothesis, cell biology studies and using a systematic functional genomic approach Pr José-Alain Sahel, Dr Léveillard and Dr Mohand-Said and their team identified the protein RdCVF. This discovery was published in Nature Genetics (2004) and led to Pr. Sahel receiving the Foundation Fighting Blindness Trustee Award (2005) with Thierry Léveillard. Pr Sahel also was the recipient of two major awards from the French National Academy of Sciences (2005 and 2006) for his research on retinal diseases.
Loss of cones causes disabling visual loss, as cone photoreceptor cells are responsible for central vision and central acuity, as well as color vision. In RP, as in other retinal degenerations, preventing cone cell death is a meaningful and promising therapeutic approach as useful vision can be preserved, even in patients with 95% cone photoreceptor loss. Such an approach offers hope for preserving vision by protecting remaining cones in patients suffering rod damage, while simultaneously broadening the window for successful therapeutic intervention.
About FOVEA Pharmaceuticals
Fovea Pharmaceuticals SA (Fovea) is a Paris-based biopharmaceutical company specialized in development and commercialization of drugs for the treatment of ocular diseases with a special focus on retinal pathologies. Created in May 2005, Fovea has a highly experienced board and management team, including Bernard Gilly, Chairman and CEO, Professor José-Alain Sahel, Chief Scientific Advisor, Bernard Davitian, CFO, Pierre Bélichard, COO and Barrett Katz, CMO. Fovea has been funded by five leading European investors led by Sofinnova Partners and including Abingworth Management, The Wellcome Trust, GIMV and Crédit Agricole Private Equity. Fovea raised a Series A financing round of $25 million (€20.5million) in November 2005 and has initiated last January 31st a collaboration with CombinatoRx to develop novel ophthalmic therapeutics built from synergistic drug combinations.
For further information, please visit the Fovea website at www.fovea-pharma.com
Contact Fovea Pharmaceuticals SA
Bernard Davitian
Chief Financial Officer
+33 1 44 16 42 61
info@fovea-pharma.com
Press Contact : EuroRSCG C&O
Marie Carole de Groc
+33 1 58 47 95 07
marie-carole.de-groc@eurorscg.fr
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•Bernard Davitian, MBA, Appointed EVP & CFO of Fovea Pharmaceuticals
[ english version pdf ]
Paris, France - October 17, 2006. – Fovea Pharmaceuticals SA, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative drugs for the treatment of ocular diseases, with special focus on retinal pathologies, announced today it has appointed Bernard Davitian as Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer. Bernard Davitian reports to Bernard Gilly, Fovea’s Chief Executive Officer.
Bernard Davitian is the former CEO of Neurotech SA, a biopharmaceutical company that he refocused on ophthalmology. While with Neurotech, he led the company’s Series C round and drove the flip of the entire company from France to the USA where it is now established near Boston. Prior to Neurotech, Bernard was SVP and CFO of Transgene SA, a French biopharmaceutical company specialized in gene therapy and immunotherapy. At Transgene, he was a key member of the team that developed the company and conducted its IPO in 1998 both on the NASDAQ and the French Nouveau Marché in Paris. Bernard Davitian was earlier with Pasteur Mérieux (now Sanofi Pasteur) for almost 10 years, where he served as Corporate CFO and was involved in a number of global strategic operations, including a key role in the acquisition of Connaught Laboratories in 1989.
“Bernard’s extensive operational and international management experience in biotech and finance environments makes him an excellent addition to the Fovea management team," said Bernard Gilly, Chairman and CEO of Fovea. "His thorough understanding of the critical strategic, tactical and compliance issues within all areas of business operations will help us scale our business as we see our projects moving into clinical development and as we expand beyond the pure discovery and development field."
Bernard Davitian added: “I am delighted to join Bernard Gilly and the team at Fovea Pharmaceuticals. Strongly supported by top-tier European investors and under the scientific leadership of Pr José-Alain Sahel, the Company is moving aggressively into development and represents a unique opportunity to build a new major player in the ophthalmology space.”
A Certified Public Accountant, Bernard Davitian holds a MBA from EM Lyon (France) and an Executive MBA from Wharton. He is a Board member of DNA Therapeutics, a si DNA start up company fighting cancer, recently spun-off from Institut Curie, CNRS, INSERM and MNHN in Paris. |
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• Gary J. Sternberg, MD, MBA, Appointed Chief Business Officer of Fovea Pharmaceuticals
[ english version pdf ]
Paris, France - September 28, 2006. –
Fovea Pharmaceuticals SA, an integrated biopharmaceutical company specialized in the discovery, development and commercialization of novel drugs for the treatment of ocular diseases, with a special focus on retinal pathologies, announced today the appointment of Dr Gary Jay Sternberg, MD, MBA as Senior Vice-President and Chief Business Officer.
Gary J. Sternberg joins Dr. Barrett Katz, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, at the New York branch of Fovea Pharmaceuticals. He will focus on Fovea’s licensing and product acquisition strategy and will also assist Fovea to develop and market therapies directed at diseases in the ophthalmic space.
Dr. Sternberg has accumulated over 12 years of experience in licensing, business development, clinical research and medical practice. He held the position of Vice President, Alliance Management and Business Development at Eyetech Pharmaceuticals (recently acquired by OSI) prior to joining Fovea. As such, he was lead negotiator at Eyetech on all key licensing deals over the last 3 years. Prior to this, he worked for Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) and DuPont Pharmaceuticals Company in significant business development roles. He started his career as an ophthalmologist and trained at New York’s Mount Sinai Medical Center. Dr. Sternberg subsequently worked in private clinical practice, where he concentrated on the treatment of general ophthalmology, cornea and external ocular diseases.
Bernard Gilly, Chairman and CEO of Fovea, stated: “We are very happy to welcome Gary onto our team today. His in-depth knowledge of licensing and acquisitions in ophthalmology, combined with his ophthalmic medical experience, will effectively complement the clinical network and expertise developed by Pr. Jose Sahel, co-founder of Fovea, and by Dr. Barrett Katz, who recently joined Fovea and with whom Gary has already worked in close cooperation. Gary’s skills and competence will be key for adding to Fovea’s product pipeline and in helping advance these products from clinical trials to market.”
Gary Sternberg added: “I am very pleased to join the Fovea Pharmaceuticals team, with whom I already had many connections. I am also excited to play an active part in helping Fovea build a successful drug development and commercial company, with the chance to bring novel eye drugs to patients in need.” |
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• Barrett Katz, MD, MBA, Appointed EVP & CMO of Fovea Pharmaceuticals
[ english version pdf ]
Paris, France - May, 2, 2006. –
Fovea Pharmaceuticals SA, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative drugs for the treatment of ocular diseases, with special focus on retinal pathologies, announced today it has appointed Dr. Barrett Katz, MD, MBA as Executive Vice-President and Chief Medical Officer.
Barrett Katz is a renowned Ophthalmologist, with over 25 years of experience in medical practice and academics, clinical trials and medical strategy, drug development and regulatory issues. He brings a distinguished career in neurosciences and academic Ophthalmology and Neurosciences as well as business and finance expertise to Fovea, complementing the company’s commitment to and expertise in the development and commercialization of therapies directed at diseases of the eye.
In his new role, Barrett Katz will support Fovea’s efforts to develop a diversified pipeline of products through clinical trials. His recruitment coincides with Fovea’s recently culminated collaboration with CombinatoRx (Nasdaq : CRXX) to develop novel ophthalmic therapeutics from synergistic drug combinations. This unique platform will complement Fovea’s ongoing internal discovery programs in ocular therapeutics.
Bernard Gilly, Chairman and CEO of Fovea, said: “We are very proud and excited to welcome Barrett to our team. His presence will efficiently complement the clinical network developed by Pr. Jose Sahel, co-founder and Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of Fovea. His outstanding reputation in the global ophthalmologic community and his experience and expertise in the field of clinical development, drug approval and product launch will be key for taking Fovea’s product candidates from clinical trials to market under the best possible conditions.”
Barrett Katz added: “I am honored and delighted to join Fovea Pharmaceuticals at this inflection point in its history, as it moves into active drug development and bringing unique products for the eye into the clinical arena.”
Dr. Barrett Katz has spent the last years as Vice President of Medical Affairs and Medical Strategy at Eyetech Pharmaceuticals, and has been integral to the team that developed Macugen™ and brought it to market. He shared in their senior leadership team, and helped manage their phase III/IV clinical protocols and trials, their publications strategic working group, and the Macugen™ steering committee alliance, as well as serving in a senior liaison position with Pfizer. Before that, he served as Professor of Ophthalmology, Neurology and Neurosurgery, and as the Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at The George Washington University School of Medicine, in Washington, D.C. While there he formulated and sponsored a joint fellowship in ophthalmic drug development, clinical trials, and regulatory affairs with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Dr. Barrett Katz has previously held faculty and leadership positions at several prestigious medical centres, including the University of Rochester and the University of California at San Diego. He has been on the executive committee of the Optic Neuritis Treatment Trial, and has been an active participant and organizer of many multi-centre clinical trials.
A magna cum laude graduate of Colgate University, and an honors graduate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Dr. Katz first trained in Internal Medicine at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas. He is fully trained as both an Ophthalmologist and a Neurologist, with a background in medical retina and neuroprotection of the central nervous system. After serving as a fellow and staff associate at the National Institutes of Health, he completed residencies in both Neurology, at Harvard Medical School, and Ophthalmology, at Tufts-New England Medical Center. He has served as a fellow at Harvard University in Boston, The National Hospital at Queen’s Square in London, and the University of California at San Francisco. He holds an M.B.A in Health Care and Finance from the University of Rochester’s Simon School of Business, is the author of over 200 publications, and the recipient of over two dozen major research grants. |
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• CombinatoRx and Fovea Pharmaceuticals enter into collaboration to develop novel ophthalmic therapeutics built from synergistic drug combinations
[ english version pdf ]
January 31, 2006 – Collaboration To Leverage CombinatoRx Approach And Fovea Expertise To Provide New
Product Candidates And Commercial Territories To Both Companies
BOSTON, MA and PARIS, FRANCE – January 31, 2006 – CombinatoRx, Incorporated (NASDAQ: CRXX) and Fovea Pharmaceuticals SA today announced a collaboration for the potential development and commercialization of combination drugs to treat ophthalmic diseases. The agreement unites CombinatoRx’s leadership in the systematic discovery of novel combination drug candidates with Fovea’s drug development resources and expertise in the field of ophthalmic therapeutics.
“Fovea is dedicated to creating the next generation of drugs to treat disorders of the eye and we look forward to working with their development team to advance CombinatoRx’s product candidates into the ophthalmic space,” said Alexis Borisy, President and CEO of CombinatoRx. “This deal exemplifies the continued execution of our strategy to capture the value created by CombinatoRx’s portfolio of product candidates and provides an innovative and financially compelling way to mobilize into a new specialty business. In this deal we access specialty development expertise, non-dilutive capital and retain significant product rights.”
“This exciting relationship allows us to immediately leverage our preclinical and clinical team and scientific capabilities by seeking to create novel ophthalmic drugs built from CombinatoRx synergistic combinations,” said Bernard Gilly, Co-Founder CEO and Chairman of Fovea. “In addition, this deal is consistent with our strategy of building a fully integrated ophthalmology franchise. This collaboration will result in Fovea receiving important marketing rights to anchor our future commercial business in exchange for our development investment.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Fovea has agreed to fund and conduct pre-clinical and clinical development of combination drug candidates it selects from the CombinatoRx portfolio, including creating ophthalmic formulations. Fovea has agreed to develop promising combination candidates up to the start of Phase III clinical trials. In exchange for Fovea’s development investment, CombinatoRx will grant to Fovea exclusive commercial rights to selected products in Europe and certain additional countries.
CombinatoRx will jointly own new intellectual property and data generated by Fovea up to Phase III trials and retains the rights to develop and commercialize the ophthalmic products in North America and certain other countries. The parties will have co-exclusive rights in Japan and
Taiwan. CombinatoRx and Fovea may choose to jointly pursue Phase III trials and regulatory approval of the product candidates in preparation for launch in their respective territories.
Under the agreement, CombinatoRx will also grant to Fovea an exclusive worldwide license to certain preclinical drug combinations to treat allergic and inflammatory diseases of the front of the eye. For these licensed compounds, CombinatoRx is eligible to receive up to approximately $20 million in upfront and development and regulatory milestone payments for the first product candidate successfully developed, and an additional milestone payment for the approval of a product in an additional indication. CombinatoRx is also eligible to receive royalties for each licensed product commercialized by Fovea.
About CombinatoRx
CombinatoRx, Incorporated is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing new medicines built from synergistic combinations of approved drugs, designed to attack disease on multiple fronts. CombinatoRx applies its proprietary combination drug discovery technology to identify new combination product candidates in a number of disease areas, including immunoinflammatory disease, oncology, metabolic disease, neurodegenerative disease, and infectious disease. By applying our proprietary screening technology, we have discovered and advanced into clinical trials a portfolio of seven product candidates targeting multiple diseases. For further information, please visit the CombinatoRx website at www.combinatorx.com
About Fovea Pharmaceuticals SA
Fovea Pharmaceuticals SA (Fovea) is a Paris-based biopharmaceutical company specialized in development and commercialization of drugs for the treatment of ocular diseases (dry eye, agerelated macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, diabetic retinopathy), with a special focus on retinal pathologies. Created in May 2005, Fovea has a highly experienced board and management team, including Bernard Gilly, Chairman and CEO, Professor José-Alain Sahel, Chief Scientific Advisor, and Pierre Bélichard, COO. Fovea has been funded by five leading European investors led by Sofinnova Partners and including Abingworth Management, The Wellcome Trust, GIMV and Crédit Agricole Private Equity. Fovea raised a Series A financing round of $25 million (€20.5million) in November 2005. For further information.
Forward-Looking Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 concerning CombinatoRx, its and Fovea’s plans for research and development, the performance of CombinatoRx and fovea under the research and license agreement, its drug discovery technology, and its collaboration strategy. These forwardlooking statements about future expectations, plans and prospects of CombinatoRx involve significant risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including risks related to the unproven nature of the Company’s drug discovery technology, the Company’s and Fovea’s ability to initiate and successfully complete clinical trials of product candidates, potential difficulty and delays in obtaining regulatory approval for the sale and marketing of its product candidates, the Company’s ability to obtain additional funding for its research and development, the ability of CombinatoRx and Fovea to successfully perform under the research and license agreement and those other risks that can be found in the "Risk Factors" section of CombinatoRx's Registration Statement on Form S-1 on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual results may differ materially from those CombinatoRx projects. |
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• Fovea Pharmaceuticals completes a €20.5 million ($25 million) Series A financing to develop new drugs for retinal diseases.
[ english version pdf - pdf en version Française ]
Paris, France, November 7, 2005. Fovea Pharmaceuticals SA (Fovea), a biopharmaceutical company created in May 2005 by a team of experienced scientists and managers, announced today the closing of a €20.5 million ($ 25 million) equity financing round. The international syndicate was led by Sofinnova Partners (France) and includes Abingworth Management (UK), The Wellcome Trust (UK), GIMV (Belgium) and Crédit Agricole Private Equity (France).
Fovea is aiming at discovering, developing and commercializing innovative breakthrough drugs for the treatment of retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, diabetic retinopathy or macular edema. These “back-of-the-eye diseases” affect large populations of patients (over 50 million people in North America and Europe). Despite their growing incidence, mainly due to ageing populations and to the increasing incidence of diabetes, there is still no satisfactory treatment and in most cases no treatment at all for these diseases. According to recent surveys, these pathologies lead to very high levels of morbidity and account for over 50% of all cases of legal blindness in Europe and North America.
Located in Paris (France), Fovea plans to build a world-class organization bringing together experts from around the world focused on breakthrough treatments of retinal diseases. Fovea benefits from an extensive network of internationally renowned scientists and clinicians. Using its proprietary technology platform, Fovea will use the proceeds to develop a diversified pipeline of products through both (1) internal research and, (2) therapeutic switching in Ophthalmology of molecules currently developed in other indications. Its development strategy leverages the combination of world class science and a privileged access to well-designed cohorts of patients.
The Company has a strong board and management team, including Bernard Gilly, co-founder of Fovea and partner at Sofinnova Partners since 2000 who has decided to join Fovea as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Professor José-Alain Sahel, co-founder of Fovea and Chief Scientific Advisor, and Pierre Bélichard, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer.
Other co-founders are Serge Picaud and Thierry Léveillard, group leaders at Inserm Unit 592. In addition, Dr Elisabeth Latour, former Director of preclinical development at Novartis Ophtha Research has joined Fovea’s team.
“I am delighted to see that we have already been able to provide Fovea with the necessary means to achieve its short term objectives in terms of management, finance and science” said Bernard Gilly, Chairman and CEO. “The support of INSERM, of the National Eye Hospital des XV-XX and of The Institut de la Vision are key differentiating factors which should hopefully allow Fovea to be rapidly successful. We are very grateful to have received such a strong financial support from top-tier European investors at this early stage of development of Fovea”.
Professor Jose Sahel added: “We have a window of opportunity to create and develop Fovea. Science has evolved to a point allowing the development of innovative molecules to treat these millions of people affected with retinal degenerative disorders. We intend to attract and associate first class scientists and renowned clinicians to better serve patients expectations”.
“Fovea was seeded by Sofinnova as a result of our permanent effort towards sourcing new breakthrough technology and scientific teams” commented Antoine Papiernik, Managing Partner at Sofinnova Partners, and we are extremely pleased to lead this international syndicate of investors in order to support the future growth of Fovea”.
***
Bernard Gilly, PhD, was previously VP R&D at Pasteur-Mérieux Connaught and then President and CEO of Transgene and has been involved in the management of a substantial number of start-up companies including CareX and Faust Pharmaceuticals. At Transgene, he managed the initial financing rounds as well as the dual listing of the company on the Nasdaq and the Nouveau Marché in 1998. Bernard Gilly will also bring his experience of the private equity sector, as he spent the last 5 years as Partner in the Life Sciences team at Sofinnova Partners in Paris.
Professor Sahel has been conducting pioneering research into the understanding of the pathological mechanisms involved in retinal cell degeneration. He is currently Chairman of one department of Ophthalmology at the National Eye Hospital of XV-XX and at the Rothschild Ophthalmology Foundation. He is also the director of INSERM Unit 592 and coordinates the Paris-based Clinical Investigation Centre of the National Eye Hospital of XV-XX. He is Professor at both the Pierre and Marie Curie University (Paris VI) and the University College of London. Professor Sahel recently received Awards from the US Foundation Fighting Blindness and the French Académie des Sciences, for his work on retinitis pigmentosa.
Pierre Bélichard, PhD, also co-founder of Fovea, joined the Company since inception as Chief Operating Officer. Pierre Bélichard has an extensive experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries both as a scientist and in business development. He was previously Licensing Director at Laboratoires Fournier, director of Business Development for Europe at Ethypharm, and more recently VP Business Development at UroGene.
About Sofinnova Partners
Founded in Paris in 1972, Sofinnova Partners is one of Europe's leading independent venture capital firms. With EUR900 million under management, Sofinnova Partners invests in start-ups and early-stage companies in information technology and life sciences. Its investment strategy consists of investing early in teams and projects with high potential, most often acting as lead or co-lead investor. Sofinnova Partners also benefits from a long-established relationship with its sister company in San Francisco, Sofinnova Ventures. Sofinnova Partners’ team consists of 10 professionals who bring valuable market insight and technical expertise to portfolio companies.
www.sofinnova.fr
About Abingworth Management
Abingworth is a long-established venture capital firm specialising in investment in life science biomedical companies. With offices in London, Cambridge (UK), Menlo Park and Boston, Abingworth is active on both sides of the Atlantic and has backed more than 90 developing life science/medical businesses. The majority of these have gone on to public offerings or have merged or been acquired. Abingworth has funds under management of over $750 million. www.abingworth.com
About The Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust is the second-largest medical research charity in the world, with assets over 11 billion GBP managed by the Investments Division. The Direct Investment Fund is part of The Wellcome Trust's Investments Division and provides equity financing to early-stage companies in the life sciences industry. The Wellcome Trust is an active investor, using its broad scientific and financial network to help build its portfolio companies in the US and Europe. Direct Investments has participated in the success of numerous life sciences companies since 1993.
www.wellcome.ac.uk
About GIMV
Since its incorporation in 1980, GIMV has grown into Belgium's most important venture capital provider and company-builder. GIMV has now become a major European and international market player. Both in Belgium and abroad, GIMV invests in information and communication technology, life sciences as well as in growth financing and management buy-outs (MBOs) of companies in more traditional sectors. With its own portfolio and third party fund activities together, GIMV managed more than EUR1.2 billion at the end of 2004. Today, the net asset value of GIMV's portfolio amounts to about 1 billion euros. GIMV has been listed on Euronext Brussels since 1997.
www.gimv.com
About Crédit Agricole Private Equity
Crédit Agricole Private Equity is the asset management company of Crédit Agricole SA, dedicated to private equity investments in unlisted companies. 30 professionals specialising in four activity segments (Expansion, Capital & LBO, Venture Capital, Secondary Market Mezzanine) manage €1.3 billion under French private equity mutual funds (FCPR and FCPI) and private equity companies (SCR). Crédit Agricole Private Equity advises business managers in their growth plans.
www.ca-privateequity.fr
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Press Contact
EuroRSCG C&O
Marie Carole de Groc tel +33 (0)1 58 47 95 07
Florence Macaire tel +33 (0)1 58 47 95 18
marie-carole.de-groc@eurorscg.fr
ou
florence.macaire@eurorscg.fr
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