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October 7, 1996
- Neurochem Completes $14M financing Impetus for Development of Alzheimer's and
Diabetes Drugs.
Neurochem Inc., a relative newcomer to Canada's biotechnology industry, has announced
the completion of a $14 million financing arrangement with a group of leading biotech
venture capital investors. The size of the agreement, one of Canada's largest private
biotech financing packages, and the calibre of the investors make this a noteworthy event.
The funding will be used to expand Neurochem's research capabilities and its intellectual
property portfolio, and to advance the company's drug candidates through the pre-clinical
and early clinical trial process.
The financing group consists of Neurochem's initial "seed round" investors, Quorum
Growth Inc. (Toronto) and Atlas Venture Inc. (Boston), as well as four new Montreal-based
investors: Sofinov (a subsidiary of La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec),
Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec, Société
Innovatech du Grand Montréal and BioCapital Investment Fund.
"With this breakthrough financing completed, we can now focus on accelerating our drug
development programs on our existing lead compounds," said Dr. Louis Lamontagne, President
and CEO of Neurochem. "Bringing an important new drug therapy to market requires two
vital ingredients: a novel, viable technology, and a dedicated and patient source of funding.
Leading, respected investors agreed that we had the first ingredient, and they have now
provided the second."
UNIQUE PROPRIETARY TECHNOLOGY
Neurochem's anti-amyloid-focused technology is at the heart of the strong investor
interest in the research-phase company. Amyloid is an abnormal aggregation of certain
naturally-occurring proteins, that become toxic as deposits enlarge. This has become an
area of intense scientific interest, since the discovery that deposits of amyloid in the
brain are common to all cases of Alzheimer's disease, and that amyloid is implicated in
the development of type II (adult-onset) diabetes, certain types of congestive heart
disease and arthritis.
Neurochem's exclusive, proprietary technology is based on small organic molecules, and
involves designing and synthesizing drug compounds that mimic certain complex
carbohydrates that interfere with the formation and growth of amyloid deposits in the
body.
LARGE AND GROWING MARKET
"We see this as one of the most promising areas of Canadian biopharmaceutical
research, over the next several years," said Richard Dole, Senior Vice President
(Technology) of Quorum Growth Inc. "If, as we anticipate, ongoing research and
development continues to document the efficacy of these technologies, Neurochem will join
a select group of biotech firms developing medicines for very large, and growing, disease
groups."
"With the well documented demographic trend of an aging population, controlling
amyloid development will represent a key challenge for health care systems," said Dr.
Lamontagne.
"Alzheimer's disease, adult-onset diabetes, heart disease and arthritis are all
diseases that strike people as they age, and that will become increasingly common in the
years and decades to come," he noted. "Our objective is to design new drug
candidates to offer hope and relief to a population increasingly in need of advanced, new
health solutions."
Neurochem is a development-stage Canadian pharmaceutical company, founded in 1993, by
PARTEQ Innovations, the technology transfer arm of Queen's University, as a vehicle to
develop the neuroscience-related discoveries of several researchers from Queen's
University in Kingston, Ontario. Neurochem has a strong network of international
development and collaborative relationships with Queen's University, University of Toronto
(Canada), Oxford University (UK), and the U.S. National Institutes of Health, among
others.
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