MPM CAPITAL LEADS EUR22 MILLION FINANCING OF BIOXELL.

MPM Capital LP, Boston, has announced that it led a EUR22 million (just under $20 million) financing of BioXell, a spin-out of Hoffmann-La Roche, located in Milan, Italy. MPM General Partners Drs., Michael Steinmetz and Dennis Henner have joined BioXell's Board of Directors.

MPM Capital has invested over $10 million into BioXell, with Hoffmann-La Roche, Index Ventures and Life Sciences Partners co-investing. BioXell is focused on the discovery and development of innovative therapeutics to treat and/or prevent immune disorders and other diseases, such as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), secondary hyperparathyroidism and psoriasis. As a spin-out of Hoffmann-La Roche, BioXell has received clinical drug candidates, over 100 vitamin D analogues, an extensive patent portfolio covering these compounds as well as a new class of immune receptors and will have access to Roche's small molecule screening library, thus leveraging a unique set of assets in immunology and the field of vitamin D analogs.

BioXell is led by Francesco Sinigaglia, M.D., CEO Dr. Sinigaglia was previously Scientific Director of Roche Milano Ricerche (RMR), a Roche research center in Milan with a focus on chronic inflammatory diseases and autoimmunity. BioXell was founded by Dr. Sinigaglia, Dr. Luciano Adorini, Chief Scientific Officer, and Michael Steinmetz, Ph. D., Chairman of the Board. Drs. Sinigaglia, Adorini, Steinmetz, and Dr. Enrico Colli, Chief Medical Officer, constitute the Executive Committee of BioXell.

BioXell's CEO, Dr. Sinigaglia, stated, "To achieve this very substantial start-up financing of more than EUR22 million in the current climate is a clear endorsement of BioXell's drug development programs and business strategy. The financing will ensure clinical development of our two most advanced compounds and support our pre-clinical research pipeline. The foundation and successful financing of BioXell by leading international life science investors marks the beginning of a new phase of biotechnological development in Italy."

Michael Steinmetz, Ph.D., a general partner of MPM Capital L.P., said, "MPM is very pleased with its role as the lead investor in BioXell's first financing round. The company has been started by a talented and experienced group of founders and employees, with a very promising technology platform and a basket of product candidates from Hoffmann-La Roche. Spin-out opportunities from Big Pharma, such as BioXell, are an important area for MPM investments. As large pharmaceutical companies streamline their pipelines, biotech is poised to gain access to exciting compounds that otherwise would have been dropped. Over the past two years, MPM has emerged as a leading investor in this new area."

MPM Capital L.P. is a global asset management firm focused solely on health care investing from early stage start-ups to large capitalization public companies. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, MPM Capital has offices in South San Francisco, California and Munich, Germany. MPM's current portfolio consists of biopharmaceutical and medical device companies and encompasses platform technology as well as product plays. The firm manages over $1.2 billion in assets through $830 million in venture capital funds and $450 million in MPM BioEquities, a fund investing in public biotechnology companies. These combined funds make MPM Capital one of the largest asset management firms dedicated to the life sciences sector.

For more information, visit http://www.mpmcapital.com or call [phone].