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December 13, 2004
QuatRx Pharmaceuticals raises $31 Million
in third private equity financing
QuatRx was founded by a team led by Bob Zerbe,
a highly experienced drug development executive from Warner-Lambert.
Bob led the team that had developed Lipitor, the world’s
best selling drug with $12 billion in sales in 2005, and
started QuatRx to in-license and develop drugs to treat
metabolic and cardiovascular disease.
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QuatRx Pharmaceuticals Company, a privately-held biopharmaceutical
development company focused on new therapies for the treatment
of cardiovascular, metabolic and endocrine diseases, today
announced it had raised $31 million in its third venture
capital round. Thomas Weisel Healthcare Venture Partners
led the financing with additional investments by all existing
institutional investors including Frazier Healthcare Ventures,
TL Ventures, MPM Capital, InterWest Partners, Stockwell
Capital and Twilight Ventures. QuatRx has raised more
than $67 million since its incorporation in December 2000.
"We are very pleased with the strong interest in
this oversubscribed financing," said Robert L. Zerbe,
M.D., Chief Executive Officer and President of QuatRx.
" Investor enthusiasm for this round highlights the
significance of the market opportunities we are pursuing,
the potential of the products we have in development,
and our proven ability to rapidly advance compounds to
clinical proof of efficacy."
QuatRx's current development portfolio consists of three
in-licensed compounds; two address dyslipidemia while
another targets psoriasis. QuatRx's lead dyslipidemia
compound, QRX-401 entered phase I human clinical trials
in mid-2004. QRX-401 is a unique non-statin, dual-action,
lipid-lowering compound which lowers LDL cholesterol and
Lp(a) cholesterol, both independent risk factors for cardiovascular
disease. Another dyslipidemia therapeutic, QRX-411, is
an HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol) elevating compound.
QRX-101, QuatRx's first development compound, is a topical
vitamin D analogue treatment for psoriasis. It has successfully
completed two human clinical phase IIa studies and entered
phase IIb studies in 2004. QRX-101 will be ready for phase
III pivotal studies in 2005.
New Board Members
QuatRx also announced that Caley Castelein, M.D., a principal
at Thomas Weisel Healthcare Venture Partners, and Chris
Ehrlich, a partner at InterWest Partners, have joined
the QuatRx board of directors.
"QuatRx is one of the best drug acquisition and development
teams we have seen," remarked Caley Castelein. "And,
they have a proven record of delivering on development
milestones. We look forward to helping fund the current
development programs as well as future acquired compounds."
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