Date: 2014-04-08
Type of information: Series A financing round
Company: Piqur Therapeutics (Switzerland)
Investors: Versant Ventures (USA)
Amount: CHF 32 million (€ 26.2 million)
Funding type: series A financing round
Planned used: PIQUR is a Swiss pharmaceutical company incorporated in August 2011 as a spin-off of the University of Basel, focusing on the discovery and development of innovative anti-cancer drugs based on lipid kinase (PI3K) and mTOR inhibition. PIQUR’s pipeline originates from one of the most promising research areas in oncology. While mTOR is a clinically validated drug target, PI3K inhibition achieved proof of concept status in clinical Phase III. PIQUR has a secured patent scope protecting many chemical compounds. In January 2014 PIQUR launched the clinical Phase I study with the active ingredient PQR309; the first results of the study are anticipated in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Others: * On April 8, 2014, PIQUR Therapeutics AG and Versant Ventures have jointly announced the investment of the California-based venture capital firm of CHF 11 million ($12M - €9M) in PIQUR. The company has closed a Series A extension round of CHF 18 million (USD 20M). This round brings the total funding of the Series A to CHF 32 million ($ 36M - € 26.2 M). Versant Ventures led the extension round, which also included new as well as existing private shareholders. Since the start of the company PIQUR has raised total proceeds of over CHF 37 million (USD 42M).Concurrent with the closing of the transaction, Guido Magni, Venture Partner with Versant Ventures in Basel, has joined PIQUR’s Board of Directors. Guido previously served as a Managing Director of EuroVentures, a Versant incubator, where he was intimately involved in several biotech investments including Synosia (sold to Biotie Therapies), Flexion (IPO) and Okairos (sold to GSK). In addition, Gianni Gromo, Venture Partner with Versant Ventures, will act as an observer in PIQUR’s Board of Directors and will give strategic advice to the company. He was previously the Global Head of the Cardio Metabolic Disease Area at Roche Pharmaceuticals. Currently, he serves on the Board of Novira Therapeutics and on scientific advisory boards of a number of academic institutions and biotechs. * On January 21, 2014, PIQUR Therapeutics has announced that it has successfully completed the Series A financing round. The private placement was rapidly oversubscribed. Subscribers include existing shareholders as well as new investors from the life science industry.
Therapeutic area: Cancer - Oncology
