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EKR Therapeutics
Raises Over $145 Million in Support of Growth
Specialty Pharma Company Sees Recent Product
Acquisitions Bolstering Its 2008 Revenue Base 10-Fold
Cedar
Knolls, N.J., March 10, 2008 – EKR Therapeutics, Inc., a specialty
pharmaceutical company focused on acquiring, commercializing and
maximizing the potential of proprietary acute-care products,
announced it has successfully completed the private placement of $50
million in Series D equity while also securing $95 million in senior
debt.
The equity funding round was led by new investors MPM Capital and
LLR Partners. Also participating were prior investors Quaker
BioVentures and the Garden State Life Sciences Venture Fund managed
by Quaker, as well as original institutional investors NewSpring
Capital and ESP Equity Partners. The debt financing is being
provided by GE Healthcare Financial Services.
As part of the equity financing, Steven St. Peter, M.D., General
Partner at MPM Capital, and Scott A. Perricelli, Partner at LLR
Partners, have joined the EKR board of directors. In turn, the board
has expanded to seven members including five non-executive and two
executive directors.
“The support of such a premier group of investors and lenders
reflects a vote of confidence in EKR’s business plan and is a
testimony to the Company’s past successes and future prospects,”
said Howard Weisman, EKR’s chairman and CEO. “Since initiating
operations less than two years ago, we have built a solid commercial
organization with several on-the-market products and our own sales
force. We are well positioned to enter the next stage of growth and
to realize our goal of becoming the pre-eminent provider of
specialty acute-care products.”
Richard DeSimone, EKR director and CFO, noted, “Our ability to
access new, quality sources of capital and garner additional support
from existing, leading healthcare investors is highly gratifying.
Additionally, with today’s announced financing transactions, plus
cash on hand, we have significantly enhanced EKR’s flexibility to
fuel the growth of our on-going operations while pursuing strategic
initiatives to bolster that growth.”
A portion of the financing proceeds will be utilized to pursue
acquisition candidates for EKR’s portfolio of specialty acute-care
products. That portfolio was recently enlarged by the first-quarter
2008 acquisitions of the Cardene® franchise, including intravenous
and oral formulations of this antihypertensive product, and Retavase®,
a drug for the management of acute myocardial infarction. Other
product offerings from EKR include DepoDur®, an injectable morphine
acquired in August 2007 for the management of post operative pain,
and Gelclair®, a bioadherent oral gel acquired in June 2006 for the
treatment of oral mucositis.
“Through the application of our acquisition strategy, we have
greatly enriched our product mix in the past few months and,
correspondingly, our 2008 revenue base has been expanded by a factor
of about ten,” said Weisman. “Moreover, even if we exclude the
potential for other product acquisitions in 2008, we foresee
significant opportunities for organic growth off of this larger
base. To this end, we plan to build upon and leverage the strengths
of our field force to drive overall sales and maximize the synergies
expected for our enlarged product portfolio.”
About EKR Therapeutics
EKR Therapeutics is a privately held specialty pharmaceutical
company that has brought together a highly seasoned team of industry
professionals. The Company focuses on the acquisition, development
and commercialization of proprietary products to enhance patient
quality-of-life in the acute setting, including cardiovascular, pain
management and oncology supportive care medications. From its
inception in late 2005, EKR has been organized to be a class leader
in commercializing products to address unmet and under-satisfied
medical needs or to otherwise enhance the therapeutic value of
acute-care prescription products. EKR’s goal is to be the
pre-eminent provider of specialty acute-care products, backed by a
commitment to excellence in customer service and medical education
programs. For additional information about EKR visit the Company’s
website at www.ekrtx.com.
Contact for EKR Therapeutics
Stuart Z. Levine, Ph.D.
Director, Strategic Communications
877-435-2524
s.levine@ekrtx.com
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