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| OVERVIEW |
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New York City, already the financial and media capital of the world, is emerging as the center of commercial bioscience and the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) is connecting bioscience businesses with the resources to thrive. Visit www.nycbiotech.org or contact us for more information on how NYCEDC can assist your business. |
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| NEWSFLASH |
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Bioenvision, Inc. Raises $30 Million
New York City based Bioenvision, Inc. (Nasdaq: BIVN) announced in April that it had priced its registered direct offering of 8 million shares of common stock at a price to the public of $3.75 per share. Proceeds to Bioenvision from this registered direct offering, net of offering expenses and placement agency fees, total approximately $27.6 million. J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. acted as the exclusive placement agent in this offering.
Bioenvision's primary focus is the acquisition, development, and marketing of compounds and technologies for the treatment of cancer. Bioenvision has a broad pipeline of products for the treatment of cancer, including: Evoltra®, Modrenal® (for which Bioenvision has obtained regulatory approval for marketing in the United Kingdom for the treatment of post-menopausal breast cancer following relapse to initial hormone therapy), and other products.
As this newsletter went to print, Bioenvision announced it would be acquired by Genzyme Corporation for $345 million.
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Manhattan Pharmaceuticals Raises
$9 Million,
Announces License Agreement
New York City based Manhattan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AMEX: MHA) recently announced that it completed an $8.6 Million private placement. Paramount BioCapital, Inc. served as placement agent for the transaction.
Manhattan Pharma also recently announced that it has acquired exclusive, North American rights to develop and commercialize two product candidates from Thornton & Ross Limited - the largest independent pharmaceutical manufacturer in the UK. The two acquired product candidates are Altoderm(TM) (topical cromolyn sodium) for the treatment of atopic dermatitis and Altolyn(TM) (oral cromolyn sodium tablet) for the treatment of mastocytosis. The company believes the acquisition of these two product candidates is an important step in the Manhattan Pharmaceuticals corporate strategy as it allows the company to continue to create a robust pipeline while building on the existing dermatology franchise.
Manhattan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a development-stage pharmaceutical company that acquires and develops proprietary prescription drugs for large, underserved patient populations. |
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Neuro-Hitech Raises $5.6 Million
New York City based Neuro-Hitech, Inc. (OTC BB: NHPI - News), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of next-generation compounds against proven targets for neurodegenerative diseases, recently announced the final closing on $5,600,000 of its securities in a private placement of its common shares and warrants.
The net proceeds will give the Company adequate funding for the next 12-16 months. During that time the Company will complete the Phase II trial of its drug, Huperzine A, which is being tested for the efficacy and safety in the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. Neuro-Hitech also anticipates beginning the Phase I trial of our transdermal formulation of Huperzine A in the first quarter of 2008.
Reuben Seltzer, CEO of Neuro-Hitech stated, "We are pleased to secure this capital infusion which will allow the Company to increase shareholder value by focusing on our business strategy of developing and commercializing compounds for neurodegenerative diseases. We now have sufficient capital to complete the Phase II trial of Huperzine A, as well as advance the rest of our pipeline, including the transdermal patch of Huperzine A."
In November, Neuro-Hitch acquired Q-RNA, Inc., a New York City based biotechnology company focused on diseases such as Alzheimer’s, epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease. |
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Paradigm Spine Raises $14 Million
New York City based Paradigm Spine, LLC recently completed a $13.9 Million Series D Private Placement to fund U.S. IDE clinical studies and expand the company's international operations and product portfolio.
The private placement was managed by Viscogliosi & Co, Inc., an investment bank founded by Viscogliosi Brothers, LLC ("VB"), a leading New York-based merchant banking firm specializing in the musculoskeletal / orthopedic sector.
Paradigm Spine, LLC is a leading provider of non-fusion stabilization technologies to the international spine community, with headquarters in New York and operating facilities in Germany. The Company was founded in 2004 by VB and is concentrating on building a multi-product non-fusion portfolio. The company's signature product is the coflex(tm) posterior, non-fusion interspinous dynamically-functional implant. A multi-center IDE clinical trial of the coflex(tm) implant has been commenced by the company.
"Our successful Series D round reflects the confidence our investors have in our business plan and results to date," said Marc R. Viscogliosi, Chairman and CEO of Paradigm Spine, LLC. "Many of our Series D investors also participated in previous rounds," he added.
This is the fourth financing round for Paradigm Spine, LLC. Collectively the Company has raised over $43 million, including over $33 million in cash and $10 million in foundational assets and IP contributed by VB. In May of 2006, Paradigm raised a $14 Million Series C private placement. |
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TiGenix Raises Over $50 Million
TiGenix, based in Brussels with its US office in New York City, recently announced that its public offering of 8 million shares raised EUR40 million ($53 M). The total offering was oversubscribed four-and-a-half times.
TiGenix is a biomedical company focused on innovative local treatments for damaged and osteoarthritic joints. The Company is exploiting the power of regenerative medicine to develop durable treatments, validated through controlled clinical trials, for these indications. TiGenix was founded as a spin-off from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and the Universiteit Gent. TiGenix is developing a portfolio of products that address specific musculoskeletal problems.
NYCEDC first met this company in 2006 on a bioscience recruitment mission and is delighted to see them grow in New York City. The company is listed on the Euronext Brussels exchange under the symbol TIG. |
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IAVI Signs Agreement with Government
of India
The Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India and New York City based International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) signed an agreement recently to address a major obstacle in AIDS vaccine development: the design of candidate vaccines to elicit neutralizing antibodies against HIV. A new Indian Medicinal Chemistry Programme, co-sponsored and co-funded by IAVI and the Department of Biotechnology, will comprise top Indian and U.S. scientists tasked with accelerating the pace of AIDS vaccine discovery and developing creative concepts for the next generation of AIDS vaccines.
"This is a most welcome and truly collaborative effort," said Seth Berkley, CEO and President of IAVI. "Public, private and non-profit entities are increasingly working together to come up with innovative biotechnology solutions to end the AIDS crisis." |
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Workforce Training For New York City’s Biotech Sector
To foster biotechnology industry development in NYC, Hunter College has developed a Biotechnology Program that provides students with skills in molecular biology to meet the needs of the New York workforce in the biotechnology/pharmaceutical industry, academic research, and public health. Hunter's program has successfully achieved its goals by providing well-trained bench research technicians that are trained to execute the experimental protocols designed by Ph.D. scientists in industry and the private sector.
This project will create a new model for workforce development for New York City for the employment of research technicians in biotechnology companies and local private institutions. The program recently graduated its first expanded class. For more information, contact Dr. Patricia Rockwell, Associate Professor of Biology at Hunter College – 212 650 3234.
Read more about the program in this City Limits article. |
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NYC Bioscience Initiative at BIO 2007
The NYC Bioscience Initiative held a significant presence at BIO 2007 in Boston. From May 7–10, the world’s largest biotech conference attracted 22,000 delegates. “Before the event we mailed out promotional materials to over 10,000 targeted attendees. During the 3 days of the event our team conducted over 50 one-on-one meetings with companies interested in locating in New York,” noted Bill Fair, Managing Director of NYCEDC’s Bioscience Desk. The City’s prominent booth, located within the NY Loves Bio Pavilion, received heavy traffic and over 100 additional inquiries were fielded about lab space, venture funding, and collaboration opportunities in New York City.
The City also used this conference as an opportunity to debut new NYC bioscience marketing materials. The new materials are available by request by contacting Lenzie Harcum of the NYC Bioscience Desk. |
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Bio-Med Israel 2007
Bio-Med Israel 2007 will take place in Tel Aviv from June 5-7, 2007. This is Bio-Med’s sixth year, and the second year that New York City Economic Development Corporation has participated in conjunction with New York State's Empire State Development Corporation for the purposes of recruiting U.S. operations to New York City. |
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SBIR Update
Learn more about the $2 Billion of R&D funding opportunities for bioscience and tech companies in the SBIR Insider Newsletter of April 16, 2007. This issues includes an update on the ATP’s $60 Million R&D award program. |
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