| |
|
Boston, Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem – MPM Capital L.P. (“MPM”) one of the largest asset management firms dedicated to the life sciences sector, and Clal Biotechnology Industries Ltd. (“CBI”), Israel’s leading investor in life sciences, have signed final agreements to invest in Mindset BioPharmaceuticals Inc. (“Mindset”). MPM and CBI have acted as co-lead investors in this round of financing and shall invest $15 million, in two tranches, in consideration for a majority interest in the Jerusalem-based (Delaware registered) company. 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®, was selected for funding by the prestigious Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study (ADCS), a consortium of clinical investigators and academic researchers chartered by the National Institute of Aging, 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® as one of only four clinical trials to support in its next cycle. Studies have shown that OXIGON® 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 formation, a major pathological manifestation of AD. After Phase I clinical trials, ADCS will sponsor and finance the first trial in AD patients with OXIGON®. 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, who received his postdoctoral training at the Center for Neurobiology 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 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 therapies, as carried out by its portfolio companies D-Pharm and NST. 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 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 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 through $800 million in the MPM
Boston, Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem – MPM Capital L.P. (“MPM”) one of the largest asset management firms dedicated to the life sciences sector, and Clal Biotechnology Industries Ltd. (“CBI”), Israel’s leading investor in life sciences, have signed final agreements to invest in Mindset BioPharmaceuticals Inc. (“Mindset”). MPM and CBI have acted as co-lead investors in this round of financing and shall invest $15 million, in two tranches, in consideration for a majority interest in the Jerusalem-based (Delaware registered) company.
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®, was selected for funding by the prestigious Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study (ADCS), a consortium of clinical investigators and academic researchers chartered by the National Institute of Aging, 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® as one of only four clinical trials to support in its next cycle. Studies have shown that OXIGON® 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 formation, a major pathological manifestation of AD. After Phase I clinical trials, ADCS will sponsor and finance the first trial in AD patients with OXIGON®.
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, who received his postdoctoral training at the Center for Neurobiology 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 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 therapies, as carried out by its portfolio companies D-Pharm and NST. 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 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 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 through $800 million in the MPM BioVentures family of venture capital funds 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 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), NST, Polyheal, Peptor, Immuno-Designed Molecules (France), OralScan Laboratories (USA) and MTRE Advanced Technologies.
For Further Information:
Dr. Ansbert Gadicke, General Partner
MPM Capital L.P.
111 Huntington Ave., 31st Floor
Boston, MA 02199, USA
E-mail: agadicke@mpmcapital.com
Tel: 617-425-9200
Ophir Shahaf, VP Business Development
Clal Biotechnology Industries Ltd.
3 Azrieli Center, 45th Floor
Tel-Aviv 69411, ISRAEL
E-mail: ophirs@cbi.co.il,
Tel: 973-3-607-5733
Daniel Chain, PhD, President and CEO
Mindset BioPharmaceuticals (USA) Inc.
Kiryat Mada 5, POB 45032
Jerusalem 91450, ISRAEL
E-mail: dchain@mindset.co.il
Tel: 972-2-541-2727
|
