Printer Friendly
The Free Library
5,669,962 articles and books
Member login
User name  
Password 
 
Join us Forgot password?

Prolacta Bioscience Closes on over $12 Million in Private Funding.


-- Seasoned Plasma Industry Expert John Bacich Named Chairman of the Board --

MONROVIA, Calif. -- Prolacta Bioscience, a privately held company privately held company

A firm whose shares are held within a relatively small circle of owners and are not traded publicly.
 that provides the only commercially available human milk fortifier for·ti·fy  
v. for·ti·fied, for·ti·fy·ing, for·ti·fies

v.tr.
To make strong, as:
a. To strengthen and secure (a position) with fortifications.

b. To reinforce by adding material.
 made exclusively from human milk for infants in the neonatal intensive care unit Noun 1. neonatal intensive care unit - an intensive care unit designed with special equipment to care for premature or seriously ill newborn
NICU

ICU, intensive care unit - a hospital unit staffed and equipped to provide intensive care
 (NICU NICU
abbr.
neonatal intensive-care unit
), announced today that it has secured over $12 million in funding, and that it has named former Baxter Bioscience President John Bacich as Chairman of the Board. Alta Partners led the financing and was joined by DFJ DFJ Dysfunkshun Junkshun (Austin, Texas band)  Frontier, Arcturus Capital, DFJ Mercury, Funk Ventures, Phillip Capital, Gideon Hixon Fund, and Draper Associates L.P., as well as others. Alison de Bord, Director at Alta Partners, joined the board of Prolacta in connection with the financing.

Prolacta currently sells the first and only human milk fortifier, made from 100% human milk, for use in the NICU. Fortifier is added to a mother's own milk, or to donor milk, which is critical for a preemie or sick baby's ability to grow and develop. The new funding will support greater commercialization and sales of Prolacta's successful product line, as well as the development of additional products that meet the specific nutritional needs of these critically ill and premature infants.

The announcement of Mr. Bacich as new chairman of the board adds one of the most experienced and respected health care executives in plasma therapeutics to the Prolacta organization. Working closely with 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.  Scott Elster, also a former Baxter executive, and other veteran industry executives within the Prolacta team, Mr. Bacich will undoubtedly strengthen the execution of proven and successful business strategies.

"The demand for Prolacta products has grown significantly since it was commercially introduced in 2005, as caregivers in the NICU have realized that bovine (cow) based fortifier can cause severe intolerance issues with delicate infants in the NICU," said Mr. Elster. "Having John Bacich, a highly respected health care expert with relevant industry experience as our chairman, will be a significant benefit to Prolacta and the patients we serve. John will play a critical role in our efforts to permanently improve the standard of care for critically ill and vulnerable babies."

Mr. Bacich has been involved in the biopharmaceutical industry for 38 years, most of which was with Baxter Healthcare beginning in 1968 and retiring in 1998. He held a variety of positions including quality management, research and development, global manufacturing operations Manufacturing operations concern the operation of a facility, as opposed to maintenance, supply and distribution, health, and safety, emergency response, human resources, security, information technology and other infrastructural support organizations. , and general management, leading to the presidency of what is now called the Bioscience Division of Baxter Healthcare. In his capacity as president, Mr. Bacich was responsible for the plasma products worldwide and the development of the recombinant proteins Since human recombinants have replaced the animal version in human therapeutics, the prefix of "rh" for "human recombinant" appears less and less in the literature Human recombinants that replaced animal or harvested from human types
 business.

"I built my career at Baxter, where we produced vital products from human plasma that saved lives every day," said John Bacich, chairman of Prolacta. "It is truly fulfilling to put that experience to work at Prolacta, developing human milk-based products that save the lives of premature and critically ill babies."

Babies in the NICU, born weighing less than five pounds, eight ounces (2,500 grams), are considered low birth weight and are at an increased risk of serious health problems, lasting disabilities, and even death. About one in every 13 babies in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area.  is born with low birth weight, and nationwide, approximately 500,000 babies are born prematurely each year, which is equal to nearly 12% of all U.S. births. The rate of preterm preterm /pre·term/ (-term´) before completion of the full term; said of pregnancy or of an infant.

pre·term
adj.
 birth has increased 27 percent between 1982 and 2002, from 9.4 percent to 11.9 percent.

Prolacta's products contain crucial antibodies from the mother that can help these babies resist infections and serious diseases, such as necrotizing enterocolitis Necrotizing Enterocolitis Definition

Necrotizing enterocolitis is a serious bacterial infection in the intestine, primarily of sick or premature newborn infants.
 (NEC (NEC Corporation, Tokyo, www.nec.com, www.necus.com) An electronics conglomerate known in the U.S. for its monitors. In Japan, it had the lion's share of the PC market until the late 1990s (see PC 98).

NEC was founded in Tokyo in 1899 as Nippon Electric Company, Ltd.
), sepsis, and bacterial meningitis bacterial meningitis Acute bacterial meningitis Neurology Meningeal inflammation caused by bacteria which, if untreated, is often fatal, or associated with significant sequelae Epidemiology 60% are community-acquired–CM, 40% nosocomial–NM Predisposing . Human milk has been shown in clinical research studies to decrease the incidence of infection and disease. The antibodies found in human milk, as well as other protective molecules are not present in other forms of milk, such as cow milk.

"As the leader in the science of human milk, we are extremely pleased to have the support of a blue chip investor such as Alta Partners," said Frank Foster, Chairman of Prolacta. "Their extensive industry experience will accelerate our mission of improving the lives of critically ill and premature infants."

About Alta Partners

Alta Partners is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm focused on life sciences investing. Founded in 1996, the firm currently manages $2 billion in committed capital through eight venture fund programs. Alta invests in life sciences companies across the development continuum, from company formation to later-stage opportunities, and has funded more than 110 companies in the sector to date. www.altapartners.com

About Prolacta

Prolacta BioScience (www.prolacta.com) is a life science company dedicated to the application of science relating to relating to relate prepconcernant

relating to relate prepbezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc 
 human milk - one of nature's most complex and valuable substances. Prolacta is the pioneer in human milk-based nutritional products for critically-ill and premature infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. It has created the first and only commercially available Human Milk Fortifier made from 100% human milk, Prolact-Plus[TM]. With this breakthrough development, Prolacta has made a commitment to improving neonatal nutrition. Using state of the art formulation, pasteurization pasteurization (păs'chrĭzā`shən, -rīzā`shən), partial sterilization of liquids such as milk, orange juice, wine, and beer, as well as cheese, to destroy  and filling processes, Prolacta ensures the highest possible level of product safety and quality. The company operates a pharmaceutical grade processing plant and has designed and patented processes unique to the science of human milk. Prolacta is committed to supporting research in the areas of human milk and premature infant nutrition in order to assist health care professionals in providing the best possible care for the most fragile babies.
COPYRIGHT 2007 Business Wire
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2007, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

 Reader Opinion

Title:

Comment:



 

Article Details
Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
Publication:Business Wire
Date:May 23, 2007
Words:918
Previous Article:iqzone Showcases Snap Send Sell(TM) Mobile Classified Ad Service Live at iHollywood Mobile Entertainment Summit.
Next Article:Political, Economic, Social and Technological Analysis of the Retail Sector in Russia.
Topics:



Related Articles
GUAVA SIGNS $5.5 MILLION JAPANESE DISTRIBUTION PACT.
Striking structure emerges on campus.(Higher Education)(Besides the efficient new Lillis Business Complex, more facilities are upcoming)
Private equity firms step into Hollywood spotlight.(Up Front)
Biotech merger could bring jitters to some shareholders.(NEWS & ANALYSIS)(Company Profile)
Kennedy Funding saves project with $12m loan.(FINANCE)(Shores of Paradise LLC)
Venture funding flow shows tech's strength.
'You have to expect some of them will go out of business'.(SPECIAL REPORT WHO'S WHO IN FINANCE VENTURE CAPITALISTS)
Venture capital activity bouncing back with 'Web 2.0'.(NEWS & ANALYSIS)
Venture capital firms: L.A.-based, ranked by capital under management.(The List)(Company rankings)

Terms of use | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc. | Feedback | For webmasters | Submit articles