May 11, 2004 12:01 PM US Eastern Timezone
AmpliMed Corp. Announces the Successful Completion of Extended Series 'A' Financing; $9.25MM Raised to Fund Clinical Development of Novel Cancer Chemotherapies
TUCSON, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 11, 2004--AmpliMed Corp., a privately owned pharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of novel cancer chemotherapies, today announced that it has successfully raised a total of $9.25MM to complete its Series "A" preferred stock offering. Valley Ventures III LP (Scottsdale/Tucson) led the financing, and other participants included Biotech Insight Management (Pebble Beach, Calif.), InvestBio (New York), Solstice Capital (Tucson/Boston) and Village Ventures (Denver).
"We are delighted that our investors have confirmed their confidence in AmpliMed and its clinical development programs, enabling us to successfully complete our first significant round of financing," noted Robert A. Ashley, chairman, CEO and president of AmpliMed. "This funding will enable us to carry out clinical development of our lead drug, Amplimexon(R) (Imexon, Inj.) through Phase II studies in two key clinical indications, malignant melanoma and pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Amplimexon is the subject of orphan drug designations for malignant melanoma, pancreatic adenocarcinoma and multiple myeloma, and so will have orphan drug status for each indication following NDA approval by FDA. We will also have sufficient funds to progress the development of a second drug, Amplizone(R), into the clinic, and we are currently reviewing several other late-stage clinical development opportunities to take advantage of our highly qualified clinical development faculty and further expand our oncology drug pipeline."
AmpliMed's lead drug candidate is Amplimexon(R) (Imexon, Inj.). In limited clinical trials, Amplimexon has been shown to exhibit evidence of clinical activity in cancer patients, without certain side effects, which often limit the utility of other cancer drugs. Amplimed will expand on and confirm these findings in its planned clinical studies.
About AmpliMed Corp.
AmpliMed Corp. was founded in 1991 with the support of the University of Arizona Technology Development Corp. and is focused on the clinical development of chemotherapeutic agents for cancer. The company's lead product is Amplimexon (imexon), which is undergoing NDA-directed clinical development. Other products in the company's portfolio include Amplizone(R), which is anticipated to enter the clinic later in 2004, and a portfolio of derivatives of both lead compounds for future development.
The company's strategy is to develop anti-cancer drugs with novel mechanisms of action designed to overcome some of the limitations, such as myelosuppression (suppression of blood cell counts), multidrug resistance (treatment-induced resistance to many cancer drugs) and cardiac toxicity, frequently associated with current cancer therapy. The company's lead drug, Amplimexon, targets mitochondria, the energy-producing factories of the cancer cell. Phase I trials of Amplimexon were initiated in 2003 and Phase II trials are anticipated in 2004.
For additional information about AmpliMed Corp., please contact Ashley at 520-529-1000.
AmpliMed(R), Amplimexon(R) and Amplizone(R) are United States trademarks of AmpliMed Corp. |
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