Allied Minds’ Subsidiary SciFluor Life Sciences Raises $30 Million & Names William Koster, PhD, Former CEO of Neurogen Corp...
April 22 2015 - 2:00AM
Business Wire
- SciFluor’s recent advancements in its
pipeline, comprised of two lead compounds and additional discovery
assets using the strategic incorporation of fluorine to create
best-in-class drugs, generated investor interest.
- SciFluor’s plans to develop
fluorine-containing new chemical entities (NCEs) across multiple
disease states will benefit from the addition of William Koster,
whose accomplishments include success in senior executive roles in
small molecule drug discovery and early clinical development at
Neurogen Corp. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.
Allied Minds (LSE: ALM), an innovative U.S. science and
technology development and commercialization company, today
announced that its subsidiary company, SciFluor Life Sciences, has
raised $30 million. Proceeds will be used to accelerate its two
lead compounds — one a topical treatment for retinal diseases and
the second a treatment for neurological diseases — while expanding
its drug discovery and commercialization pipeline.
SciFluor also named William Koster, PhD, a seasoned executive in
drug discovery research and early clinical development, as Chairman
of the Board. Koster previously served as President and Chief
Executive Officer of Neurogen Corp., a NASDAQ-listed biotechnology
company engaged in neuroscience R&D. He also spent 30 years
with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. in various roles that included Senior
Vice President overseeing worldwide drug discovery research and
early clinical development through Phase 2a.
SciFluor is focusing its efforts on the strategic use of
fluorine to create new drugs with improved potency, selectivity,
dosing and metabolic stability across multiple disease states,
including retinal disease, CNS disorders, pain, pulmonary and
inflammatory disease. The company recently announced the issuance
of two U.S. patents for potentially breakthrough lead compounds to
treat retinal diseases and epilepsy. Treatments for retinal
diseases, such as Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and
Diabetic Macular Edema (DME), represent a more than $6 billion
market opportunity, and those for epilepsy and related disorders
are estimated at more than $7 billion.
“This successful funding round will enable SciFluor to
accelerate the development and commercialization of
fluorine-enhanced drug therapies,” said Omar Amirana, MD,
SciFluor’s Chief Executive Officer and Senior Vice President at
Allied Minds. “We are delighted with the support of our investors
and warmly welcome Bill to the Board. His guidance will be
tremendously valuable.”
Significant participants in the funding round are Invesco Asset
Management (Invesco), Woodford Investment Management (Woodford) and
Allied Minds, SciFluor’s parent company.
SciFluor’s two recent patents included one for SF0166, a small
molecule integrin antagonist designed to topically treat retinal
disease, including Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and
Diabetic Macular Edema (DME), via eye drop administration to the
surface of the eye. SciFluor also received a patent for SF0034, a
potent and selective neuronal potassium channel activator intended
to be a significantly improved drug relative to the first-in-class
KCNQ2/3 activator drug, ezogabine (POTIGA®). SF0034 is targeted for
development in partial-onset epilepsy and potentially for a
recently identified orphan disease, a rare disorder known as KCNQ2
pediatric encephalopathy.
“SciFluor is successfully making the transition to a clinical
development company. The opportunity to place these innovative
discoveries into protocols for clinical testing and development is
incredibly exciting, and I’m pleased to be a part of the next stage
of this company’s commercial development,” said Koster.
Of the $30.0 million raised in this financing, Invesco
contributed approximately $11.7 million for the purchase of
1,223,269 preferred shares, and Woodford contributed approximately
$11.3 million for the purchase of 1,181,448 preferred. Invesco and
Woodford are each a substantial shareholder of Allied Minds
pursuant to the Listing Rules, and thus this transaction is a
smaller related party transaction falling within the scope of
Listing Rule 11.1.10R.
Prior to this transaction, Allied Minds’ last reported ownership
adjusted value (1) in SciFluor was $30.8 million. As a result of
this transaction, Allied Minds contributed approximately $4.8
million to SciFluor, the total valuation of SciFluor increased from
$37.1 million to $130.7 million (including new invested capital),
and the ownership adjusted value of Allied Minds’ 69.94% holding in
SciFluor increased by $60.6 million to $91.4 million.
__________
(1) Ownership adjusted value represents Allied Minds’ interest
in the equity value of SciFluor = (Business Enterprise Value – Long
Term Debt + Cash) x Allied Minds percentage ownership.
SciFluor will be presenting at a Capital Markets Day event to be
hosted by Allied Minds on 28 April at Etc. Venues St. Paul’s, 200
Aldersgate St., London. SciFluor will be presenting alongside
Allied Minds’ subsidiary businesses Spin Transfer Technologies,
Federated Wireless, Allied-Bristol Life Sciences and OptioLabs.
About SciFluor Life Sciences
SciFluor Life Sciences is a drug discovery company applying
expertise in fluorine chemistry to create a broad portfolio of
differentiated therapeutics to treat various diseases. The company
creates patentable new chemical entities (NCEs) directed towards
precedented biological targets. SciFluor strategically incorporates
fluorine or fluorine-containing groups to design drugs with
improved pharmacological profiles that provide important benefits
over existing therapies such as improved safety, efficacy, dosing,
and patient compliance. This capital-efficient and de-risked drug
discovery approach has resulted in the generation of a proprietary
pipeline of novel and differentiated small molecule drugs across a
diverse range of therapeutic categories and disease areas,
including retinal disease, CNS disorders, pain, pulmonary and
inflammatory disease. More information about SciFluor can be found
at www.scifluor.com.
About Allied Minds
Allied Minds (LSE: ALM) is an innovative U.S. science and
technology development and commercialization company. Operating
since 2006, Allied Minds forms, funds, manages and builds products
and businesses based on innovative technologies developed at
leading U.S. universities and federal research institutions. Allied
Minds serves as a diversified holding company that supports its
businesses and product development with capital, central management
and shared services. More information about the Boston-based
company can be found at www.alliedminds.com.
Allied Minds Forward-Looking Statement
This press release contains statements that are or may be
forward-looking statements, including statements that relate to the
company’s future prospects, developments and strategies. The
forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and
are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results, performance and achievements to differ
materially from current expectations, including, but not limited
to, those risks and uncertainties described in the risk factors
included in the company’s regulatory filings. These forward-looking
statements are based on assumptions regarding the present and
future business strategies of the company and the environment in
which it will operate in the future. Each forward-looking statement
speaks only as at the date of this press release. Except as
required by law, regulatory requirement, the Listing Rules and the
Disclosure and Transparency Rules, neither the company nor any
other party intends to update or revise these forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise.
Media contact:ArcPoint Strategic CommunicationsChristine Dunn,
617-484-1660 x101cdunn@arcpointstrategy.com
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