Drug Discovery Company to Focus on G-Protein Coupled Receptors
BERWYN, Penn., March 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Trevena, Inc., a drug discovery
company focused on developing pharmaceutical products targeting G-protein
coupled receptors (GPCRs), today announced the closing of a $24 million
Series A financing. Alta Partners and Healthcare Ventures led the round as
part of an investor syndicate that included New Enterprise Associates and
Polaris Venture Partners. The company will use the funds to progress its
drug discovery portfolio.
"We are very pleased to have attracted an outstanding group of
investors, who share our vision and strategy on building a premier drug
discovery organization," said Maxine Gowen, Ph.D., President and Chief
Executive Officer. "Pharmaceutical products that target GPCRs represent
over 40% of marketed drugs today and these targets provide an attractive
starting point for new pharmaceutical agents. Trevena's mission will be to
utilize a state of the art approach to discover and develop novel
GPCR-targeted medicines for patients."
Dr. Gowen was most recently the Senior Vice President of
GlaxoSmithKline's Center of Excellence for External Drug Discovery, where
she was responsible for delivering compounds with therapeutic proof of
concept through partnerships with biotechnology companies. "We are thrilled
to have Maxine's leadership and believe Trevena is uniquely positioned to
develop new GPCR-based drugs, across multiple therapeutic areas, which
could be safe and more effective than current pharmaceuticals," commented
Farah Champsi, Managing Partner at Alta Partners.
Trevena has recruited Michael Lark, Ph.D. as Head of Research and Mark
Strobeck, Ph.D. as Chief Business Officer. Michael was previously Vice
President of Biology Discovery, at Centocor. Mark was formerly Vice
President of Business Development for Drug Discovery at GlaxoSmithKline.
Trevena's drug discovery platform, licensed from Duke University
Medical Center, is based on extensive research from the laboratories of
Robert J. Lefkowitz, M.D., Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute,
James B. Duke Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry at Duke University
Medical Center and Howard A. Rockman, M.D., Chief of Cardiovascular
Medicine at Duke University Medical Center. Drs. Lefkowitz and Rockman are
founders of Trevena and will act as consultants to the company.
In connection with the Series A financing, Farah Champsi, Managing
Director at Alta Partners, Christopher Mirabelli, Ph.D., Partner at
Healthcare Ventures, Robert Garland, M.D., Partner at New Enterprise
Associates, Terry McGuire, Managing Partner at Polaris Venture Partners,
Ralph Snyderman, M.D., Chancellor Emeritus, Duke University and James B.
Duke Professor of Medicine at the Duke University School of Medicine and
Maxine Gowen, Ph.D. joined Trevena's Board of Directors.
About Alta Partners
Alta Partners is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm focused on
life sciences investing. Founded in 1996, the firm currently manages $2
billion in committed capital through seven venture fund programs. Alta
invests in life sciences companies across the development continuum, from
company formation to later-stage opportunities, and has funded more than
120 companies in the sector to date. http://www.altapartners.com
About Healthcare Ventures
For information on Healthcare Ventures, visit http://www.hcven.com
About New Enterprise Associates
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) is a leading venture capital firm
focused on helping entrepreneurs create and build major new enterprises
that use technology to improve the way we live, work and play. With
approximately $8.5 billion in committed capital, NEA's experienced
management team has invested in over 550 companies, of which more than 160
have gone public and more than 230 have been acquired. For additional
information, visit http://www.nea.com
About Polaris Venture Partners
Polaris Venture Partners is a partnership of experienced venture
capital investors and technology executives. Our mission is to identify and
invest in seed, first round, and early stage information technology and
life science businesses with exceptional promise and help them grow into
sustainable, market-leading companies. In addition, Polaris is committed to
providing growth equity and shareholder liquidity to established companies
in the technology, healthcare, manufacturing, media, communications, and
business services sectors. The firm has over $3 billion under management
and current investments in more than 100 companies. For information on
Polaris Venture Partners, visit http://www.polarisventures.com
SOURCE Trevena, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.altapartners.com
CONTACT:
Mark Strobeck, Ph.D., of Trevena, Inc.,
+1-610-727-3773, mstrobeck@trevenainc.com
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