 |
|
 |
 |
|
| |
 |
|
|
| |
Arthrosurface
Arthrosurface, located in Franklin, MA, develops and markets orthopedic devices for joint resurfacing. Boston Millennia Partners sourced this investment opportunity through proactive deal flow efforts. We have maintained our position as the sole institutional investor in Arthrosurface because we believe strongly in the future prospects for the company’s novel solutions in a rapidly expanding orthopedics market. The company has been growing rapidly, with surgeon usage and revenue growth rates over 400% cumulatively over the past three years. The company’s proprietary HemiCAP® (Contoured Articular Prosthetic) system is a unique, minimally invasive technology that can be used to treat a wide range of joint defects ranging from isolated defects on the joint’s articular surface to large articular surface lesions and osteochondral defects. Arthrosurface has developed a broad portfolio of FDA-approved implant devices for the shoulder, knee and hip joints, as well as the great toe and ankle joints. In addition, the Company has several implant devices under development targeting the knee (Uni) and glenoid surface of the shoulder. Arthrosurface markets and distributes its products in the U.S. and several countries outside of the U.S., including Germany, the U.K., Spain, Italy, Belgium, Australia, Canada and South Africa.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
CardioMEMS
CardioMEMS was founded in 2000 in order to pursue commercial applications of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) developed in the laboratories of Georgia Tech and M.I.T. for use in patients with a variety of disorders including abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) and congestive heart failure (CHF). The CardioMEMS AAA Pressure Sensor, an implantable MEMS-based device designed to monitor pressure in the space between an endovascular graft and the arterial wall, entered its first phase of human trials in early 2003. The initiation of clinical trials for the CardioMEMS Heart Pressure Sensor, a similar product designed for surgical insertion into the left ventricle of heart failure patients, occurred shortly thereafter in early 2004. CardioMEMS realized its first major regulatory milestone in 2005, achieving 510k approval and obtaining the CE mark for its AAA product. The company reported its first sales in the following year and attained a 39% year-on- year increase in gross revenue from 2006-2007. A larger market opportunity is available for the company’s CHF sensor, for which the company is currently seeking regulatory approval. Pivotal trials for this product commenced in 4Q07. CardioMEMS’ technology covers a broad range of in vitro applications, and the company has been able to attract late stage investment on terms attractive to the company that we expect will fully fund the creation of significant value creating events.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Collegium
Collegium Pharmaceuticals is a developer of late stage specialty pharmaceutical products derived from approved or about to be approved chemical entities. The company was founded by the team that also founded Copley Pharmaceuticals, a highly successful generic pharmaceutical company. The company’s management is highly experienced in drug formulation techniques and drug delivery, and, as such, are positioned to exploit profitable niches in the pharmaceutical market. Collegium applies proprietary formulation techniques to produce products with improved therapeutic performance. This may involve, for example, combining two different drugs into a single formulation in which the delivery and absorption of the two components is controlled to produce a therapeutic effect. Collegium creates value through performing internal “proof of concept” and out-licensing to suitable marketing partners or in certain cases obtaining regulatory approval and marketing the products themselves. For approved chemical entities, the Company uses regulatory paths that do not require large clinical trials to gain approval. In this way, the cost, time and risk associated with clinical trials is avoided, even as valuable intellectual property rights are maintained. The company already has developed or in-licensed multiple proprietary formulation and drug delivery platforms that are applicable both to new drugs and drugs about to come off patent. Thus, the company’s products and services enable pharmaceutical and biotech companies to improve performance of their products and extend patent lives. At the same time, they enable generic pharmaceutical companies to enhance financial performance by marketing proprietary formulations.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
CombinatoRx
CombinatoRx (NasdaqGS:CRXX) has a proprietary platform to screen drug combinations in vitro and has thus far introduced six products into the clinic based on this platform. The company focuses on unique combinations of drugs that have already been approved by the FDA. With the well-publicized, safety-related failures of approved drugs after marketing had begun, we believe the company’s focus on combinations of existing drugs gives it a highly attractive drug development model. The company has created a current pipeline of drug candidates consisting of proprietary products with reduced safety risks in cancer, inflammation and other disease states, which have large addressable markets. The company went public in December 2005 to raise proceeds for development purposes and has raised additional funds in private placements. We believe that the company’s products are unusually attractive and the company has the potential to provide a high return on our investment.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Galt Associates
July 15, 2006
Acquired by the Cerner Corporation (NASDAQ: CERN) in July, 2006, Galt Associates is an example of Boston Millennia Partners’ expertise in the healthcare information technology sector and their commitment to help dedicated management teams grow their companies over the long run. Founded in 1994, Galt Associates is recognized as an international leader in the drug safety and risk management solutions industries. Boston Millennia Partners began its relationship with Galt in 2001 as the lead investor in its original Series A financing. Represented at the board level by Partner Robert Jevon, Millennia worked with Galt’s founders to grow the business from a niche software company in the drug safety market to a complete pharmacovigilence solutions provider. During Millennia’s tenure as investors in Galt, the company developed new products to complement its initial offering and in doing so created a comprehensive solutions suite to fit the needs of life science companies of all sizes. In their five years working with the company, Millennia also helped Galt extensively expand its consulting services to complement its software solutions. At the time of sale, Galt counted 16 of the world’s 20 largest life science companies as customers and had tripled its sales since Millennia made its initial investment. Having the prescience to invest in the pharmacovigilence space ahead of the FDA’s increasing of post-clinical regulatory requirements, Cerner’s all cash acquisition of the company provided Millennia with a strong return for the firm’s Limited Partners.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Glycofi, Inc.
June 9, 2006
GlycoFi began in the laboratory at Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth University in 2000. The conventional method of producing protein drugs involves mammalian cell reactors that makes use of a cell type known as a CHO cell, which is able to put sugars on the protein backbone (a process known as glycosylation) so that the result does not generate an immune response in humans. Production lines based on this technology are expensive to build and difficult to scale. It was natural to look for protein expression technologies that were more efficient “factories” than CHO cells but which also glycosylated the therapeutic protein correctly. Boston Millennia Partners, through personal relationships at Dartmouth, became interested in the company in late 2001 and invested in the Series B financing in early 2002. The round was the first substantial round of institutional financing. After our initial investment, we served on the Board of Directors of GlycoFi and were integral to the strategic development of the company. We worked with the management team and Board to advance the technology to meet market demands, and helped to establish strategic partnerships, including partnering agreements achieved with Merck & Co., Eli Lily and Company and others, to validate the technology, and provide strategic equity financing and revenue for the company. In addition, Millennia supported and helped to raise over $30 million in venture capital financing for the company. In January 2006, GlycoFi scientists published an article in Nature Biotechnology which demonstrated the company’s ability to produce glycoforms of the antibody in Genentech’s cancer cell killer, Rituxin®. Following the publication of that success, GlycoFi was acquired by Merk & Co. for $400 million in cash, after an auction process in which our advice was instrumental in optimizing the acquisition price. According to the National Vventure Capital Association, the transaction realized the third highest price ever paid for a private biotechnology company. Boston Millennia Partners received a 10X return on its investment in GlycoFi, Inc.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
ILEX Oncology
(<< View Graph >>)
We have extensive experience in the area of outsourced services for pharmaceutical companies and have leveraged that experience to find exceptional investment opportunities. ILEX was formed from a division of the Cancer Therapy & Research Center located in Texas, and initially focused its efforts on providing outsourced development services and clinical trials capabilities to major pharmaceutical companies. ILEX later evolved its business strategy; in addition to providing clinical trials services, ILEX acquired active anticancer agents and completed their development on its own behalf or with partners. ILEeX completed its initial public offering in February 1997. The company reached a significant milestone, with the U.S. and Eeuropean regulatory approvals and marketing launch of Campath. This put ILEX into a select group of approximately 40 biotechnology companies that have marketed products, out of more than 1,000 biotech companies overall. The company had a deep pipeline of other anti-cancer compounds focused on the treatment of both advanced and early disease. ILEX maintained one of the biopharmaceutical industry’s most experienced in-house development organizations for oncology drugs, with locations in San Antonio, TX, Annapolis, MD, and the United Kingdom. ILEX also conducted drug discovery research in angiogenesis inhibition, medicinal chemistry and nuclear receptor biology from its laboratories in Boston and Geneva, Switzerland. ILEX was acquired by Genzyme Corporation
(NasdaqGS: GENZ) in 2004. Our $4.0 million investment in ILEX Ooncology has a distributed value of $20.8 million.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
PAREXEL International
(<< View Graph >>)
PAREXEL International is a global contract
research organization providing clinical trials outsourcing services to major pharmaceutical companies worldwide. We worked with PAREXEL’s founders to grow the company from a niche market consulting firm into a multinational pharmaceutical services company generating more than $1 billion in annual revenue. Following our initial investment in 1986, we worked with PAREXEL’s management team to define and implement a strategy to consolidate the highly fragmented contract research industry and take advantage of its extraordinary growth potential. We developed primary market research for PAREXEL on the contract research organization industry and created a database of acquisition candidates, from which the company completed several acquisitions. PAREXEL is now the third largest contract research organization in the world, with over 7,000 employees. PAREXEL completed its initial public offering in November 1995. The distributed value of our $2.8 million investment in PAREXEL was $38.6 million.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Proteome
Proteome / Incyte Genomics provides its customers,
including 20 of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, with sophisticated protein analysis database tools that transform scientific publications into an analyzable relational database. Instead of conducting searches of the literature about, e.g. protein interaction, a scientist can access the Proteome database through a link on his or her computer. Users can be assured the data is current because the Proteome staff continually reviews the relevant literature and provides weekly updates to the database. The Proteome services are sold on an annual renewable license basis. Proteome was a pioneer in protein literature curation and developed a formidable head start against potential competitors by virtue of having reviewed and summarized 40,000 scientific articles. The company was sold to Incyte Genomics for cash and stock with an aggregate value of $77 million. We received $16.6 million on our $4.0 million investment. The holding period was 12 months.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
 |