Amakem, a new Flemish drug discovery company starts operations for treatments of major chronic diseases
(Thomson Reuters ONE) - Diepenbeek and Gent, February 11, 2010 - Amakem and Devgen (Euronext Brussels,DEVG) announce today the closure of a EUR 1.5 million seed financing round andthe contribution in kind of certain assets, intellectual property and know-howof Devgen's former pharma division. The financing round was led by LRM, throughits ARKIV subsidiary KMOFIN. Other investors are Life Sciences Research Partners(LSRP) and VINNOF. Devgen obtains in return for its contribution a 21% share inAmakem.Amakem was recently founded by Dirk Leysen, Olivier Defert and Nadya Kaval,three former Devgen medicinal chemists with a long track record in drugdiscovery, research and development. The founders decided to continue thedevelopment of a unique kinase inhibitor concept that they embarked upon duringtheir Devgen tenure. Amakem's mission is to obtain a leading position in thediscovery and development of safe and effective kinase inhibitors with localizedactivity and to create substantial value via an internal proprietary pipeline ofdrug candidates. Initially Amakem will focus on the development of localtreatments for major chronic diseases such as glaucoma, allergic asthma andchronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).The equity investments of EUR 1.5 million will allow Amakem to set-upoperations, validate its kinase platform and generate early developmentcandidates for its lead target indication.Dirk Leysen (co-founder and CSO), Thierry Bogaert (Devgen), Nico Vandervelpen(LRM) and Kenneth Wils (VINNOF) will join Amakem's board of directors. The boardwill be chaired by Chris Buyse (LSRP)."We are delighted to have concluded this seed financing round with a syndicateof experienced life sciences investors, backed by one of the leading Belgianbiotech companies." says Dirk Leysen co-founder and CSO of Amakem - speaking inthe name of the founding team."Devgen is pleased to see the work done on its former kinase project to becontinued by Amakem. We are confident that the Amakem team, with their longexperience in the field, is well positioned to bring this project to fruition."says Thierry Bogaert, managing director of Devgen. "The financial and strategicbacking from the investors is a confirmation of the solid scientific value ofthe project and capabilities of the team. Spinning out our pharma assets, inexchange for an equity share, is in line with Devgen's strategy to fully focusits investments on agrobiotech and seed, as announced on 5 November 2008" headds."Our commitment to this deal is the result of a longstanding relationship wehave with the founding team and reflects our confidence in their expertise anddevotion to the project." says Nico Vandervelpen, head of Life SciencesInvestments at LRM. "We are convinced that the financial backing by a strongsyndicate of investors combined with the strategic support from Devgen providesan excellent basis to turn Amakem into a successful drug discovery company."About Amakem NVAmakem is a chemistry driven company embedded in the Limburg life sciencecommunity and starts as a centre of medicinal chemistry excellence, paving theway to becoming an integrated pharma company. The core activity is to deliveradvanced medicinal chemistry solutions for drug research. The mission of Amakemis to obtain a leading position in the discovery and development of safe andeffective kinase inhibitors with localized activity and to create substantialvalue via an internal proprietary pipeline of drug candidates. Initially Amakemwill focus on a unique kinase inhibitor concept for the treatment of majorchronic diseases such as glaucoma, allergic asthma and COPD.About the investorsDevgen nvDevgen's mission is to enable farmers to sustainably grow more food on lessland, with less water, agrochemicals and labor.Devgen uses advanced biotechnology and molecular breeding technology to makehigh yielding seeds and crop protection solutions with a superior environmentalprofile.Devgen brings this technology to the market in the world's major food and feedcrops through two complementary strategies:- Licensing Devgen technology for use in corn, cotton and soy and selected othercrops in exchange for R&D funding, and milestone and royalty payments;- producing and selling its premium hybrid seeds in major field crops such asrice, sunflower, sorghum, and pearl millet, in the Indian subcontinent andSouth-East Asia.In its Crop Protection unit, Devgen developed and has taken to market a novelnematicide, an agro-chemical product that protects crops from damage byparasitic nematodes.Incorporated in 1997, Devgen has offices in Ghent (Belgium), Singapore,Hyderabad (India), General Santos (The Philippines) and Delaware (US) andemploys more than 250 people.www.devgen.comLRM NVLRM is a profit driven investment company offering entrepreneurs a unique mix ofrisk capital and real estate. Oxygen for growth! LRM is a generalist fund thathas developed specific expertise in the field of ICT, Life Sciences and CleanTech. LRM's activities support the economical development and overall employmentin the province of Limburg. LRM focuses on various sectors and companies, fromstart-ups, SME's to larger enterprises. In view of the ARKimedes regulation forthe promotion of growth financing for Flemish SME's, LRM has an ARKIV subsidiaryKMOFIN.LRM's activities are focused on five domains: ICT & Media, Life Sciences,Cleantech & Energy, SME's and Large enterprises. The Life Sciences franchise ismanaged by Nico Vandervelpen and Kris Motmans.www.lrm.beVINNOF CVAVinnof (Vlaams Innovatiefonds - Flemish Innovation Fund) provides seed capitalfor young, innovative companies and start-ups based in Flanders. Vinnof is a100% subsidiary of ParticipatieMaatschappij Vlaanderen NV, the investmentcompany for Flanders.www.vinnof.beLife Science Research Partners VZWLife Sciences Research Partners is an non-profit organization that supportsfinancially early stage innovative companies and start-ups with a major focus inLife Sciences and is based in Leuven (Belgium). LRSP vzw invested already inCardio 3 Biosciences, Formac, Beta Cell, BioTra and recently in Promethera.For more information, please contactAmakemDirk Leysen, CSOdirk.leysen(at)amakem.com
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Datum: 11.02.2010 - 01:31 Uhr
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