Circe Biomedical Raises $28 Million in New Financing.Business Editors & Biotechnology Writers LEXINGTON, Mass.--(BW HealthWire)--Dec. 18, 2000 Circe Biomedical, Inc. announced today that it has received $28 million in private equity funding to advance its work in therapeutic cell systems. Asahi Chemical, Burrill & Company, HLM HLM Habitation à Loyer Modéré (France) HLM Houston Lake Mining, Inc (Val Caron, ON, Canada) HLM Heart-Lung Machine HLM Hierarchical Linear Modelling HLM Holland, Michigan Management, Advanced Technology Ventures, SenMed Medical Ventures, Polaris Venture Partners, BancBoston Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners Bessemer Venture Partners is a private venture capital firm with offices in Silicon Valley, New York, Massachusetts, China, and India. It has backed such companies as Ciena, Flarion, Parametric Technologies, Skype, Staples, VeriSign and Veritas. , Spray Venture Partners, and Mayo Medical Ventures provided the financing. This round of financing will primarily fund the completion of Circe's phase II/III pivotal clinical trial, preparations for FDA FDA abbr. Food and Drug Administration FDA, n.pr See Food and Drug Administration. FDA, n.pr the abbreviation for the Food and Drug Administration. review and the eventual manufacture of its HepatAssist(R) Liver Support System. "The HepatAssist System has progressed further in controlled clinical trials than any other liver support system being evaluated today. It is currently being tested for the treatment of acute liver failure Acute liver failure is the appearance of severe complications rapidly after the first signs of liver disease (such as jaundice), and indicates that the liver has sustained severe damage (loss of function of 80-90% of liver cells). at 10 major liver transplant centers in the United States and nine in Europe," said Reed R. Prior, Chairman 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. . The Liver Support System is an external plasma circuit designed to temporarily provide liver function when a patient's own liver fails. Using its proprietary technologies in membrane bioreactors and mammalian cell isolation and cryopreservation cryopreservation /cryo·pres·er·va·tion/ (-prez?er-va´shun) maintenance of the viability of excised tissue or organs by storing at very low temperatures. cry·o·pres·er·va·tion n. , Circe has combined biocompatible biocompatible /bio·com·pat·i·ble/ (-kom-pat´i-b'l) being harmonious with life; not having toxic or injurious effects on biological function. membrane materials and living liver cells into an integrated system designed to provide patients with many of the essential metabolic functions of a healthy liver. The system is being evaluated for its ability to improve patient survival by providing support to patients with acute liver failure until they can receive a liver transplant or until their own liver regains its natural function. The American Liver Foundation The American Liver Foundation (ALF) is a non-profit organization that promotes liver health and disease prevention. ALF provides research, education and advocacy for those affected by hepatitis and other liver diseases. The ALF has 26 chapters across the U.S. estimates that 26,000 individuals in the U.S. die from liver failure each year. For patients with acute liver failure, a shortage of organ donors and the rapid progression of disease result in an overall mortality rate of 50 to 60 percent. "Using state of the art technologies, we believe we have developed the most advanced system for acute liver failure and are looking forward to the completion of the pivotal trial. However, this is just the first step in the future of cell therapy at Circe," said Barry A. Solomon, Ph.D., President and Chief Scientific Officer. "In the long term, we want to develop cell and gene therapy systems, including cell transplantation, that will enable the successful treatment of serious and life threatening diseases and conditions," he said. Circe Biomedical (http://www.circebio.com) develops bioartificial organs, therapeutic cell systems and other products to treat life-threatening diseases of the metabolic organs - the liver, pancreas and kidney. In January 1999, the company was founded as a privately held independent company through a management led buyout from W.R. Grace & Co. |
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