BOSTON, Jan. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Gelesis Inc., a privately held developer
of novel treatments for obesity, today announced $16 million in its first
institutional financing. OrbiMed Advisors led the round and existing
investors participated.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080103/NETH025LOGO )
Gelesis was co-founded in 2006 by PureTech Ventures and ExoTech Bio
Solutions with the participation of a group of renowned obesity experts and
scientists including Dr. Stephen Woods (Professor of Psychiatry, Director
of the Obesity Research Center, University of Cincinnati), Dr. Lee Kaplan
(Director, Massachusetts General Hospital Weight Center), Dr. James Hill
(Professor of Medicine & Pediatrics, Director Center for Human Nutrition,
University of Colorado Denver), Dr. Elazer Edelman (Professor of Medicine
Harvard University, Director Harvard-MIT Biomedical Engineering Center),
and Dr. David Feigal (Former Director, Center for Devices & Radiological
Health, FDA). Gelesis is also the recipient of a $1M grant from the BIRD
Foundation.
Jonathan Silverstein (Chairman) and Rishi Gupta of OrbiMed Advisors
were named to Gelesis' Board of Directors; also joining the Board are Klaus
Veitinger MD (former CEO of Schwarz Pharma in the US) and Chen Schor (Chief
Business Officer of Epix Pharmaceuticals). The new directors will join the
existing board, which includes Gelesis CEO Yishai Zohar (formerly a Partner
at PureTech Ventures where he co-founded Gelesis), Ronald Cape (Partner,
PureTech Ventures), and Mendy Axlerad (Co-founder and CTO, ExoTech Bio
Solutions).
Dr. James Hill noted, "The process of interacting with colleagues who
represent some of the leading experts in obesity research has been
exciting. Obesity is a growing problem and it's gratifying to see such a
novel approach to treating obesity moving forward."
About OrbiMed Advisors:
OrbiMed is the world's largest fully dedicated healthcare fund manager,
with over $6 billion in assets under management. Since inception of its
private equity investment activities in 1993, OrbiMed has successfully
invested in over 70 companies across a wide range of therapeutic categories
and stages of development.
http://www.OrbiMed.com
About Queensland BioCapital Funds:
Queensland BioCapital Funds Pty Ltd (QBF) is a wholly owned subsidiary
of the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC), one of Australia's largest
institutional fund managers with over $65 billion in funds under
management. QBF was established in October 2002 to assist QIC in its role
as trustee and manager of the fund by identifying, validating and managing
investment opportunities.
http://www.qbf.qic.com.au
About PureTech Ventures:
PureTech Ventures is a Boston-based venture creation firm specializing
in translating breakthrough research from top tier academic institutions
into therapies that will impact human health. PureTech's Partners include
entrepreneurs and leaders from the top echelon of pharma, biotech and
academia including Dr. Ronald Cape (founder, Cetus), Dr. Robert Langer
(renowned MIT professor), Dr. Frank Douglas (former Chief Scientific
Officer, Aventis), Dr. Bennett Shapiro (former EVP Worldwide Basic and
External Research, Merck), and Dr. John Zabriskie (former CEO Pharmacia &
Upjohn).
http://www.PureTechVentures.com
This release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning
of the federal securities laws. Such forward-looking statements reflect,
among other things, management's current expectations, plans and
strategies, and anticipated financial results, all of which are subject to
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and factors that may cause our
actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by
these forward-looking statements. Many of these risks are beyond our
ability to control or predict including the company's need for additional
funds, the company's dependence on a limited number of compounds, the early
state of the products the company is developing, uncertainties relating to
clinical trials and regulatory reviews, competition and dependence on
collaborative partners, the company's ability to avoid infringement of the
patent rights of others, and the company's ability to obtain adequate
patent protection and to enforce these rights. Because of these risks,
uncertainties and assumptions, you should not place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements. Furthermore, forward-looking statements speak
only as of the date they are made. Gelesis Inc. does not undertake any
obligation to update or review any such forward-looking information,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
SOURCE Gelesis Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.gelesis.com
http://www.OrbiMed.com http://www.qbf.qic.com.au
http://www.PureTechVentures.com
Photo Notes:
NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080103/NETH025LOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
CONTACT:
Yishai Zohar, CEO of Gelesis Inc.,
yzohar@gelesis.com
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