AlgoRx Completes Acquisition of Late Stage Pain Product and License to Drug Applications of Technology Platform From PowderJect; AlgoRx Receives Commitment for $25 Million Financing.Business Editors/Medical Writers BIOWIRE2K CRANBURY, N.J.--(BW HealthWire)--March 25, 2002 AlgoRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (http://www.algorx.com), an emerging pain management company, announced today the completion of its acquisition of global rights to PowderJect Lidocaine lidocaine /li·do·caine/ (li´do-kan) an anesthetic with sedative, analgesic, and cardiac depressant properties, applied topically in the form of the base or hydrochloride salt as a local anesthetic; also used in the latter form as a , a late-stage pain therapeutic, as well as all assets of PowderJect's Fremont, Calif.-based manufacturing facility. In addition, AlgoRx has licensed rights to commercialize the needle-free, pain-free PowderJect technology for all drug (non-vaccine) applications. As part of the acquisition, AlgoRx has issued shares valued at $10 million to Oxford, U.K.-based PowderJect Pharmaceuticals plc (LSE LSE - Language Sensitive Editor :PJP PJP Pope John Paul PJP Partial Joint Penetration (welding) PJP pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia (opportunistic infection) PJP Papa John's Pizza PJP Probate Judge of the Peace PJP Prison and Jail Project ). Concurrent with the transaction, AlgoRx has received commitments for $25 million in a Series B financing from InterWest Partners, JPMorgan Partners and Sofinnova Ventures. This funding will be used to advance AlgoRx's pipeline of products, including AlgoRx's two clinical stage products, PowderJect Lidocaine and ALGRX 4975. PowderJect Lidocaine painlessly delivers a powdered form of the local anesthetic local anesthetic n. An agent that, when applied directly to mucous membranes or when injected about the nerves, produces loss of sensation by inhibiting nerve excitation or conduction. lidocaine to the skin to eliminate/greatly reduce the pain of venipuncture venipuncture /veni·punc·ture/ (ven?i-pungk´chur) surgical puncture of a vein. ve·ni·punc·ture or ve·ne·punc·ture n. and cannulation can·nu·la·tion or can·nu·li·za·tion n. Insertion of a cannula. cannulation introduction of a cannula into a tubelike organ or body cavity. . More than 400 million procedures are performed in the United States each year that are candidates for PowderJect Lidocaine. Extensive market research suggests that a product combining fast onset, ease of use, and needle-free/pain-free attributes will greatly expand usage of local dermal dermal /der·mal/ (der´mal) pertaining to the dermis or to the skin. der·mal or der·mic adj. Of or relating to the skin or dermis. anesthesia. "PowderJect Lidocaine fits extremely well with our pain management focus and we are excited about the prospect of commercializing this revolutionary needle-free local anesthetic," said Ronald Burch, M.D., Ph.D., president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of AlgoRx. "This acquisition of PowderJect's drug product business transforms AlgoRx into a late-stage drug development company with a strong pipeline of pain products including both traditional pharmaceutical agents as well as those based upon the proprietary PowderJect needle-free, pain-free drug delivery platform." "We have been extremely impressed with the progress that AlgoRx has made in the 12 months since founding," commented Chris Ehrlich, InterWest Partners. "We are confident the AlgoRx management team will continue to create significant value through its development of the PowderJect drug product portfolio." "This transaction demonstrates the value of PowderJect's needle-free delivery technology, powder injection, and its applicability in a range of applications, including drugs," said Dr. Paul R. Drayson, chairman and chief executive of PowderJect. "With PowderJect now focusing exclusively on vaccine applications of powder injection, I am extremely pleased that AlgoRx, with its strong management and first-class financial backers, will continue to drive the PowderJect drug programs forward." About AlgoRx: AlgoRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a private development-stage, pain management company focused on building a diversified portfolio of pharmaceutical products to address the large, unsatisfied pain market. Current pharmaceutical treatments for pain, in its various forms, yield worldwide sales in excess of $25 billion. AlgoRx was founded in 2001 and combines world-class scientific talent with the financial resources of several leading venture capital firms Name Location Founding date Managing Partners/Directors Specialty Capital managed 5AM Ventures Menlo Park, CA; Waltham, MA 2002 John Diekman, PhD (managing partner), Scott Rocklage, PhD (managing partner), Andrew Schwab (managing partner) life sciences $200M [1] . About PowderJect: PowderJect is a rapidly growing pharmaceutical company headquartered in Oxford, U.K., with facilities located in Europe and the U.S. With a range of products sold under its Evans Vaccines and SBL SBL Society of Biblical Literature SBL Symbol Technologies, Inc. (NYSE symbol) SBL Spamhaus Block List SBL Space-Based Laser SBL Securities Borrowing and Lending SBL Supreme Beings of Leisure (band) Vaccin brands, PowderJect is one of the world's largest vaccines companies. PowderJect's portfolio of products includes vaccines for influenza, yellow fever yellow fever, acute infectious disease endemic in tropical Africa and many areas of South America. Epidemics have extended into subtropical and temperate regions during warm seasons. , travel diarrhoea, cholera, tuberculosis, polio and tetanus. The company's world-class biologics manufacturing facilities are amongst the largest in Europe, and have approvals from both the U.S. and European regulatory authorities. |
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