Healthcare Industry News: InterWest Partners
News Release - February 26, 2007
Trius Therapeutics Completes $20 Million Series A Financing and Names CEO
Funding Supports Development of Proprietary Antibacterials for Serious InfectionsSAN DIEGO, Feb. 26 (HSMN NewsFeed) -- Trius Therapeutics, Inc. (formerly known as Rx3 Pharmaceuticals), a biopharmaceutical company developing antibacterial drugs for the treatment of serious infections, announced today a $20 million Series A financing. Investors are Sofinnova Ventures, as lead investor, joined by InterWest Partners, Prism VentureWorks and Versant Ventures.
Trius Therapeutics also announced today the appointment of Sofinnova Venture Partner, Jeffrey Stein, Ph.D., who previously served as Chairman of the company, as President and Chief Executive Officer. John Finn, Ph.D., a co-founder of the company, who previously served as President, will serve as Chief Scientific Officer going forward.
"We are extremely pleased to have attracted this group of top tier investors," stated Jeffrey Stein, President and CEO of Trius Therapeutics. "The financing will enable us to advance TR-701, our lead product candidate, through Phase IIa clinical trials and fund a second program into Phase 1 clinical development."
"Sofinnova Ventures and our co-investors believe that the combination of TR-701 as a promising clinical candidate, Trius Therapeutics' strong internal pipeline and its experienced management team create a compelling value proposition," stated Michael Powell, Ph.D., General Partner of Sofinnova. "We look forward to working with the management team to create a valuable antibiotic portfolio."
Concurrent with the Series A financing, Trius Therapeutics has named company Director, David Kabakoff, Ph.D. as Chairman. Michael Powell, Ph.D. of Sofinnova Ventures, Brian Atwood, of Versant Ventures, Nina Kjellson of InterWest Partners, and Brendan O'Leary, Ph.D. of Prism VentureWorks have also joined the Board of Directors with Jeffrey Stein, Julia Brown, and Takashi Kiyoizumi, M.D., Ph.D., continuing to serve as Directors.
About Trius Therapeutics
Trius Therapeutics is discovering and developing innovative antibacterial drugs for the treatment of life-threatening infections. The company's lead product candidate, TR-701 is a novel oral and IV oxazolidinone antibiotic with potent activity against Gram positive bacterial pathogens. Trius' pipeline includes three additional structure-based drug design programs directed against novel antibacterial targets. The most advanced program has reached animal efficacy testing. For more information, visit http://www.triusrx.com.
Source: Trius Therapeutics
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