Prestwick Pharmaceuticals, a D.C.-based drug company with multiple treatments in the pipeline, will get $60 million to take its most promising drug from product development to commercialization. The investment deal, which the company secured in its third round of venture financing, is one of the biggest for a Washington-area biotech company.
Prestwick’s XENAZINE — a drug that treats symptoms associated with a number of neurological diseases — is being reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the firm is hoping for approval in 2007. It has already been approved in eight countries outside the United States, including Canada, and is Prestwick’s most promising product for commercialization. In March, the FDA indicated the drug is in line for approval and set a November date for a public meeting to discuss the company’s New Drug Application.
Prestwick has several other drugs in various stages of development that will also be financed by the $60 million investment.
Prestwick’s Series C round of funding was led by Warburg Pincus, a global venture capital firm with more than $10 billion under management. Prestwick raised about $52 million in its first two rounds of financing. The $60 million will come in two parts with the second half hinging on Prestwick delivering on certain undisclosed performance criteria.
“That’s definitely the upper end [of investments],” said Bruce Robertson, managing director of HIG Ventures. The Atlanta-based venture firm, which is not an investor in Prestwick Pharmaceuticals, focuses on life science companies. “The life science venture market is healthy right now on a national level,” Robertson said. “Washington has gotten its share if not more than its share [of investment deals] in the last couple of months.”
For example, MacroGenics, a Rockville-based biotech company with treatments for autoimmune disorders, cancer and infectious diseases in development, raised $45 million in Series C financing in May. CoGenesys, also based in Rockville, spun off from Human Genome Sciences in June and raised $55 million in first round financing.
Backing Prestwick
Investors in Prestwick Pharmaceuticals:
» Warburg Pincus
» Atlas Venture
» BA Venture Partners
» CNF Investments
» Pequot Ventures
» Sofinnova Ventures
» Vivo Ventures
What is XENAZINE?
XENAZINE treats chorea, which is characterized by excessive, involuntary and repetitive movements. Chorea is usually seen in patients with Huntington’s disease, a degenerative, hereditary illness that affects about 30,000 Americans. Symptoms include uncontrolled movements, loss of intellectual faculties and emotional disturbance.
