| February
24 , 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ALGORX PHARMACEUTICALS RAISES $65
MILLION IN
SERIES C FINANCING LED BY ADVENT INTERNATIONAL
Company Also Appoints New Board Member
Cranbury, New Jersey - February 24,
2004 - AlgoRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.,
a privately-held pharmaceutical company,
today announced that it has raised
$65 million through a Series C financing
led by Advent International. AlgoRx’s
three existing investors, InterWest
Partners, JPMorgan Partners and Sofinnova
Ventures, participated in the financing
round, which was oversubscribed. New
investors in the round included S.R.
One, Limited, Pacific Rim Ventures
Co., Index Ventures, Lehman Brothers
Healthcare Fund, Hunt Ventures, EGS
Healthcare Capital Partners, Piper
Jaffray Ventures, NIF Ventures, Axiom
Venture Partners, Cogene BioTech Ventures
and William Harris Investors. Aquilo
Partners, Inc. acted as placement
agent in the transaction. The company
has raised more than $89 million since
its inception in March 2001.
AlgoRx also announced that Charles
Cohen, Ph.D., a partner at Advent
International, has joined the company’s
board of directors.
“The success of this financing
and the strong interest from such
high-quality investors validates our
excitement in the medical and commercial
opportunities for AlgoRx’s products,”
said Ronald M. Burch, M.D., Ph.D.,
AlgoRx’s President and Chief
Executive Officer. “We are pleased
to add a new group of investors who
share AlgoRx’s vision, and we
are pleased by the strong and consistent
support we received from our existing
investors.”
The company’s first product,
ALGRX 4975 (capsaicin for injection),
a treatment for localized severe and
intractable pain, recently completed
two positive Phase IIa studies and
will be evaluated in additional Phase
II trials during 2004. The company’s
second product, ALGRX 3268, has completed
Phase II clinical trials and is expected
to enter Phase III this year. This
financing will allow AlgoRx to accelerate
and expand the development program
for ALGRX 4975, while also providing
capital for AlgoRx to further expand
its development pipeline by in-licensing
additional clinical-stage pain management
products.
“We are enthusiastic about
AlgoRx’s progress to date and
potential for advancing its current
programs through advanced clinical
study,” said Advent’s
Charles Cohen. “We look forward
to adding promising products to the
pipeline and to working with AlgoRx’s
strong management team to build a
significant therapeutic company in
the field of pain management.”
Advent International is one of the
world’s largest private equity
firms, with $6 billion in cumulative
capital raised and 14 offices in 13
countries. Since its founding in 1984,
Advent has financed over 500 companies
and has helped businesses raise $10
billion through public equity and
debt offerings. Advent has been investing
in the healthcare and life sciences
industry for 18 years. During that
time it has funded more than 80 companies
in the sector, half of which have
completed IPOs on major stock exchanges
worldwide. For additional information,
please visit www.adventinternational.com.
AlgoRx Pharmaceuticals, headquartered
in Cranbury, New Jersey, is a privately
held pharmaceutical company focused
on the development of pain management
products that address areas of unmet
need. AlgoRx has assembled an expert
team with substantial experience in
the pain sector to identify, acquire
and rapidly develop its products.
AlgoRx’s late-stage pipeline
consists of two drugs, both in Phase
II clinical development, which have
demonstrated positive results in a
range of painful conditions. AlgoRx
was formed in March 2001, and has
raised more than $89 million to date.
For additional information, please
visit www.algorx.com.
Investor Relations Contact:
Jeffrey A. Rona
AlgoRx Pharmaceuticals
Tel: (609) 409-2305
Media Relations Contact :
Amy Rosenberg
Financial Dynamics
Tel : (212) 850-5615
About Axiom Venture Partners
L.P. Axiom Venture Partners
provides capital and strategic assistance
to rapidly growing high technology
companies. Axiom's professionals bring
substantial investing experience and
industry expertise to the venture
capital process. With over $200M in
capital under management, the firm
seeks to consider investment proposals
in two main industry areas. The first
is high technology, which includes
communications, software, Internet
infrastructure, and information technology.
Biotechnology constitutes the second
area. Through its office in Connecticut,
Axiom invests actively throughout
the United States in early or late
stage companies. For more information,
visit www.axiomventures.com
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