Argos and miRagen add new venture rounds to back R&D efforts

Posted under Argos Therapeutics, Blog, Companies, Diagnostics, Funding, Medical Devices, Medical Supply, Miragen Therapeutics, Pharmaceuticals, Pipeline, R&D, Startups, Universities, Videos by john

Just a few weeks after giving up on its IPO, Durham, NC-based Argos Therapeutics rounded up a $25 million D round to pay for a late-stage study of a renal cell carcinoma therapy slated to begin later this year. Forbion Capital led the round, with TVM Capital, Lumira Capital, Intersouth Partners, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, Morningside Group, and Aurora Funds chipping in cash.

"With this latest round of financing Argos is well positioned to execute its business strategy and move forward with the planned Phase III ADAPT study of its lead product candidate, AGS-003," said Jeff Abbey, president and chief executive officer of Argos. "We recently presented updated results at the 2012 ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium from a Phase II study of AGS-003 demonstrating prolonged survival in newly diagnosed, metastatic RCC patients. Importantly, we also demonstrated that our intended mechanism of action, the induction of memory T cells, significantly correlated with improved overall survival. The Phase III ADAPT study is designed to confirm these positive results and demonstrate that AGS-003 may be an effective, safe and readily combinable therapeutic option for patients with metastatic RCC."

Boulder, CO-based miRagen Therapeutics, meanwhile, announced that it raised $20 million to fund its work on new microRNA therapies. Remeditex Ventures led this round with Atlas Venture, Boulder Ventures Ltd., Amgen Ventures, and Broadview Ventures contributing as well. Atlas Venture's Bruce Booth, chairman of the biotech, applauded miRagen's capital efficiency.

The biotech also announced this morning that it hired the veteran developer Arthur Levin as its EVP of R&D. Levin has more than 30 years' experience in the industry.

- read the release from Argos
- here's the release from miRagen on their new round
- get the release from miRagen on their new hire

Corporate venture arms step in where traditional players fear to tread

Posted under Amgen, Biotech Venture Capital, Blog, Companies, Diagnostics, Funding, Medical Devices, Medical Supply, Miragen Therapeutics, Pharmaceuticals, Startups, Universities, Videos by John Carroll

Big Pharma's corporate venture arms have been flexing their financial muscles this year. Coming into the venture game with a patient attitude and a big interest in earlier-stage R&D enterprises, Bloomberg reports that the corporate groups put up 12% of all the venture bucks--and one in four of the deals--going to private biotechs in the first half of this year. That's up sharply from the 5.3% of total dollars the VC arms accounted for in 2010.

VC groups in general have been complaining loudly this year, angry about the FDA's regulatory grip and anxious that ever-lengthening timelines and a painfully tough IPO market prevents them from cashing out on their own terms. But Bloomberg notes that the corporate VC groups don't play by those rules. Equipped with plenty of cash, they can afford to take risky gambles on long shots. That approach gives them tight relations with potential partners and takeover targets at a time their own R&D efforts are often under intense scrutiny after years of largely fruitless efforts.

"Large firms can't be as nimble, and they can't be as typically innovative either," Brooks Houghton's Kevin Centofanti tells the business news service. "Frankly, it's a cheaper way for them to get into the drug development game."

Bloomberg uses Amgen's ($AMGN) investment in the fledgling MiRagen as an example, focusing on the big biotech's crucial early support and the rep it helped create for the biotech. Once past the Valley of Death, the biotechs can find it easier to gin partnership deals and attract traditional VC backing.

- here's the article from Bloomberg

Special Report: Amgen - Biotech's Biggest Spenders 2011

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