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news.Biolex Therapeutics, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, has closed a $60 million Series D financing led by Clarus Ventures, a biotechnology investor, with OrbiMed Advisors participating as a new investor.
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Existing investors participating in the financing included Intersouth Partners, Quaker BioVentures, Johnson & Johnson Development, Investor Growth Capital, Polaris Ventures, Mitsui & Company, The Dow Chemical Company, JP Morgan Securities and the North Carolina Economic Development Fund.
Biolex said that its lead drug candidate is Locteron, a controlled-release interferon alfa designed to improve patient care in the treatment of hepatitis C through a more favorable side-effect profile and dosing convenience compared to existing pegylated interferon products.
Jan Turek, Biolex’s CEO, said: “This financing is designed to prepare Locteron for Phase III development, including the completion of ongoing and planned Phase II testing. We are pleased to have firms of the caliber of Clarus and OrbiMed join our existing group of high-quality investors, an investment team that has been instrumental in supporting and guiding the advancement of Biolex.”
The company also announced that Jeffrey Leiden, managing director of Clarus Ventures, and Klaus Veitinger, venture partner with OrbiMed Advisors, have joined Biolex’s board of directors.
Dr Leiden was previously president and COO of Abbott Laboratories’s pharmaceuticals products group, and a member of the Abbott board of directors and the TAP board of directors. Previously, Dr Veitinger was a member of the executive board of Schwarz Pharma AG and the CEO of Schwarz Pharma Inc where he was responsible for the US and Asia businesses.