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news.Gene-based pharmaceuticals developer ChemGenex has raised $6.2 million, through an international placement, to accelerate the clinical development of two targeted anticancer compounds, currently in phase II trials, and to advance the company's preclinical pipeline in oncology, diabetes, obesity and depression.
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The company’s major shareholder, Charter Pacific Corporation Limited continued its support by participating in the placement and maintains its holding at 20.1%. Two of the company’s other major shareholders, the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) and the international pharmaceutical company Merck Sante (a subsidiary of Merck KGaA), have also made significant investments and continue to be strong supporters of the company.
Two Australian institutional investors with expertise in the biotechnology sector, HSBC and Acorn Capital also made significant investments, and approximately 44% of the shares were placed with US investors.
“This placement has seen a significant expansion of investment into the company by US-based investors, a trend that we expect to see increasing as the company moves toward a NASDAQ listing,” said Dr Greg Collier, CEO and managing director of ChemGenex.
The company’s outlook for 2005 includes initiating two phase II studies; one combining Ceflatonin and Novartis’s Gleevec in leukemia, and the other evaluating Ceflatonin in bone marrow cancer. The company also anticipates filing to list shares on a US securities market.