MPM Capital L.P. and Clal Biotechnology Industries Ltd. Co-Lead Investment in Alzheimer's Disease Therapy Company - Mindset BioPharmaceuticals -USA- Inc.Business Editors and Health/Medical Writers BIOWIRE2K BOSTON, JERUSALEM, TEL-AVIV, Israel--(BW HealthWire)--Dec. 20, 2001 MPM Capital L.P. ("MPM") one of the largest asset management firms This is a list of corporations that provide financial asset management.
Mindset's products target the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). AD is a devastating illness with no known disease-modifying treatment. Mindset's two lead therapeutic programs attack each of the two major disease mechanisms: oxidative damage and amyloid plaque formation. The company's lead therapeutic candidate, the antioxidant OXIGON(R), was selected for funding by the prestigious Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study (ADCS ADCS Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study ADCS Automated Data Capture System ADCS Attitude Determination and Control System ADCS Attitude Determination and Control Subsystem ADCS Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff ADCS Army Dental Care System ), a consortium of clinical investigators and academic researchers chartered by the National Institute on Aging The National Institute on Aging is a division of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, located in Bethesda, Maryland. Formed in 1974, NIA's mission is to improve the health and well-being of older Americans through research. It is the primary U.S. , to conduct and fund clinical trials for promising new AD therapies. The ADCS (via its network of many leading AD researchers in the U.S.A.) reviewed over 300 proposals and selected to test OXIGON(R) as one of only four clinical trials to support in its next cycle. Studies have shown that OXIGON(R) has a dual mode of action: it inhibits the oxidative stress promoting the cell death associated with AD and it is a potent inhibitor of beta amyloid fibril fibril /fi·bril/ (fi´bril) a minute fiber or filament.fibril´larfib´rillary collagen fibrils formation, a major p athological manifestation of AD. After Phase I clinical trials, ADCS will sponsor and finance the first trial in AD patients with OXIGON(R). The company's immunological program consists of two approaches to reduce the level of beta-amyloid in the brain, with the aim of preventing, or even reversing, the formation of plaques. The first is active immunization with a segment of the beta-amyloid peptide, which triggers an immune response and the generation of antibodies, with the goal of reducing the level of beta-amyloid in the brain, and second, passive immunization (antibody administration) specific to the beta-amyloid peptide. Mindset's management team is led by Dr. Daniel Chain, Founder 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. , who received his postdoctoral training at the Center for Neurobiology Neurobiology Study of the development and function of the nervous system, with emphasis on how nerve cells generate and control behavior. The major goal of neurobiology is to explain at the molecular level how nerve cells differentiate and develop their and Behavior at Columbia University, where he conducted research into the molecular basis of memory. The team also includes Dr. Paul Bendheim, Chief Medical Officer, a board-certified neurologist and previously the Varon Visiting Professor in the Department of Neurobiology at the Weizmann Institute, and Dr. Eyal Neria, Vice President for Drug Design & Development, a chemist with expertise in computational chemistry and molecular modeling who received his postdoctoral training at Harvard. Mindset's Scientific Advisory Board is chaired by Alfred Goldberg, a professor at Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is one of the graduate schools of Harvard University. It is a prestigious American medical school located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. and an internationally renowned cell biologist. Dr. Ansbert Gadicke, Founding General Partner of MPM Capital, will join the Mindset Board of Directors. "We are excited about working with a strong group of founders and a leading Israeli co-investor on new Alzheimer's Disease treatments. Alzheimer is one of the major medical problems, in which we project breakthrough treatments to emerge over the next years, and the Mindset team is at the forefront of progress in this area," Dr. Gadicke said. Dr. David Haselkorn, CBI's CEO said: "We are pleased to become a substantial shareholder in Mindset. Based upon in-depth scientific due diligence, we are certain of the promising nature of the company's technology relating to Alzheimer's Disease therapy and are excited about its pipeline of products, its business model and its prospects. This investment should also be reviewed as strengthening CBI's activities in the field of developing CNS See Continuous net settlement. CNS See continuous net settlement (CNS). therapies, as carried out by its portfolio companies D-Pharm and NST NST nonstress test. NST Nonstress test, see there . Moreover, we see this substantial investment by MPM, one of the most prestigious investment entities in life science arena, in an Israeli company - as an important step forward for the biotechnology sector in Israel." Dr. Daniel Chain, Mindset's founder and CEO, commented on the investment: "We look forward to working with MPM and CBI and are proud to have played a role in bringing this highly prestigious international partnership to support biotechnology in Israel. We are particularly gratified grat·i·fy tr.v. grat·i·fied, grat·i·fy·ing, grat·i·fies 1. To please or satisfy: His achievement gratified his father. See Synonyms at please. 2. by the recognition and confidence in Mindset's innovative therapeutic development programs and in the company's advanced capability in Alzheimer's Disease research, bringing hope to millions who suffer from Alzheimer's Disease." MPM Capital L.P. (www.mpmcapital.com) is a global asset management firm focused solely on healthcare investing from early stage start-ups to large capitalization public companies. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, MPM Capital has offices in South San Francisco, California South San Francisco is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, located on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 60,552 at the 2000 census. and Munich, Germany. MPM's current portfolio consists of biopharmaceutical and medical devices companies and encompasses platform technology as well as product plays. The firm has over $1 billion in assets under management Assets Under Management (AUM) is a term used by financial services companies in the mutual fund and money management or investment management business to gauge how much money they are managing. through $800 million in the MPM BioVentures family of venture capital funds Venture Capital Funds An investment fund that manages money from investors seeking private equity stakes in small and medium-size enterprises with strong growth potential. Notes: and $400 million in MPM BioEquities, a fund investing in public healthcare companies. These combined funds make MPM Capital one of the largest asset management firms dedicated to the life sciences sector Clal Biotechnology Industries Ltd. Clal Biotechnological Industries Ltd. (www.cbi.co.il) is a wholly owned subsidiary Wholly Owned Subsidiary A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock. Notes: In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners. of Clal Industries and Investments Ltd. CBI is the leading Israeli investor in the area of life science. It was established in 1998, and has invested to date mainly in mature companies. Portfolio companies include: D-Pharm, Compugen (Nasdaq:CGEN CGEN Convective Sigmet Generation ), NST, Polyheal, Peptor, Immuno-Designed Molecules (France), OralScan Laboratories (USA) and MTRE Advanced Technologies. |
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