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Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2002 09:21:12 +0200
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Dear all,
Please note the annoucement of a new company formed in Geneva in biotech.
Best
Laurent Miéville
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Laurent Miéville, PhD
Unitec - Office of Technology Transfer
University of Geneva
T. +41 22 705 73 69
F. +41 22 705 72 30
mailto:laurent.mieville_at_unige.ch
http://www.unige.ch/unitec/english%a0
mailing list Unitec: http://www.unige.ch/unitec/english/?mailing.html
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Addex Pharmaceuticals Attracts Venture Funding From Leading European VC
Firms
GENEVA, Switzerland, July 11, 2002: Addex Pharmaceuticals today announced
the closing of a CHF 15.75 million first round (€10 million) co-led by Index
Ventures and Sofinnova Partners. Other investors include TVM (Techno Venture
Management), BCV Initiative Capital and individual investors. Antoine
Papiernik, General Partner at Sofinnova, and Richard Rimer, Partner at Index
Ventures, are serving on the board along with highly experienced
pharmaceutical and biotech industry executives.
Addex Pharmaceuticals (www.addexpharma.com) is a biopharmaceutical company
committed to the discovery, development and marketing of novel therapeutic
compounds for the treatment of addiction and other neuropsychiatric
conditions. Addex Pharmaceuticals applies a new scientific approach that
fully integrates molecular, behavioral and chemistry technologies to address
drug dependence. “Addiction is a large under-served market and significant
public health issue. Addex Pharmaceuticals is targeting this market with a
focus on nicotine, alcohol, cocaine and opiate dependence,” remarked
Francois Conquet, CEO of Addex Pharmaceuticals. “We will also explore other
indications related to the addiction process including anxiety and
depression.”
The Addex Pharmaceuticals team combines research expertise in the field of
dependence with broad experience in drug development. The core team, which
has collaborated for many years, includes scientists with complementary
skill sets and extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry. François
Conquet serves as CEO, Mark Epping-Jordan as CSO, Timothy Dyer as CFO and
Vincent Mutel as Head of Drug Discovery and Development. Members of the
Scientific Advisory Board include George Koob of The Scripps Research
Institute, Mark Geyer of UC, San Diego, Pierre Magistretti of The University
of Lausanne, Barbara Mason of The University of Miami, Florida, and Charles
Grudzinskas of CDDS at Georgetown University. “The calibre of the team and
their collective scientific and industry expertise, focused on this
important field, will have a huge impact in the treatment of addiction,”
commented Antoine Papiernik, General Partner at Sofinnova Partners.
The company utilizes a powerful drug discovery approach to identify new
targets and discover novel compounds for the treatment of dependence. In
addition to developing their own compounds, Addex Pharmaceuticals is
actively seeking to in-license drugs in various stages of development,
including drugs already in clinical trials for the treatment of dependence.
“Addex Pharmaceuticals is unique in taking a comprehensive approach to
addressing addiction, starting with scientific discovery and moving all the
way through product development and marketing,” stated Richard Rimer,
Partner at Index Ventures.
The development of drug dependence is complex, involving alterations in
cognition, emotion and brain reward processes. Effective pharmacological
interventions could reduce or eliminate drug use, prevent relapse, relieve
withdrawal symptoms, and reduce morbidity and/or mortality. Most current
therapies act at the same targets as the abused substances themselves.
However, because these targets contribute to natural reward and other basic
processes, such as motor activity, modulation of these targets often leads
to significant side effects. In contrast to existing therapies, the Addex
Pharmaceuticals drug development strategy addresses targets that indirectly
modulate systems activated by drugs of abuse. Thus, Addex Pharmaceuticals
products are expected to be broadly applicable to multiple addictions with
fewer side effects. It is also believed that this approach will yield drugs
that will be useful for the treatment of other psychiatric indications.
About Addex Pharmaceuticals
Addex is a biopharmaceutical company committed to the discovery, development
and marketing of novel therapeutic compounds for the treatment of addiction
and other neuropsychiatric conditions. Addex Pharmaceuticals is applying a
new scientific approach that fully integrates molecular, behavioral and
chemistry technologies to address drug dependence. Addex Pharmaceuticals
combines research expertise in the field of dependence with broad experience
in drug development. The company utilizes a powerful drug discovery approach
to identify new targets and discover novel compounds for the treatment of
dependence. In addition to developing their own compounds, Addex
Pharmaceuticals is actively seeking to in-license drugs in various stages of
development, including drugs already in clinical trials for the treatment of
addiction. For further information see http://www.addexpharma.com.
About Index Ventures
Index Ventures is a leading pan-European venture capital fund with $500
million dedicated to investments in high technology and life sciences. Index
began investing in European technology in 1992 and has backed more than 40
companies over the past several years. Index is dedicated to working with
entrepreneurs to build companies that can become global leaders in their
sector. Index Ventures investors include leading technology firms and
institutional investors. Life sciences companies in which the firm has
invested include Genmab (Public: Neuer Markt: 565132.F, Copenhagen: GEN.CO),
Cellzome, 7TM Pharma, BioXell and ParAllele Bioscience. To learn more about
Index Ventures visit http://www.indexventures.com.
About Sofinnova Partners
Sofinnova Partners, based in Paris since 1972, is a leading European venture
capital firm dedicated to financing and building early stage information
technology and life sciences companies in Europe and the US. Sofinnova
Partners has in total over €500M under management. In the past five years,
Sofinnova Partners has made over 60 investments, primarily as lead or
co-lead investor. In the life sciences, these have been focused on
biopharmaceutical and medical device companies such as Actelion, Nicox,
Novuspharma, IDM and SpineVision. For more details visit:
http://www.sofinnova.fr.
For further company information, please contact:
François Conquet, CEO
Addex Pharmaceuticals, SA
12, chemin des Aulx
Plan les Ouates, Geneva, Switzerland
For media inquiries, contact:
Karen Wilson
+41 22 737-0000
http://www.addexpharma.com/news.html
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Dr. Laurent Miéville
Unitec
Transferts de technologies et de compétences
Université de Genève / Hôpitaux universitaires de Genève
T. +41 22 705 73 69
F. +41 22 705 72 30
mailto:laurent.mieville_at_unige.ch
http://www.unige.ch/unitec/
Liste de distribution Unitec: http://www.unige.ch/unitec/?mailing.html
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Received on Wed Sep 25 2002 - 15:14:30 PDT
