• Armetheon

  Participated · Series B · Feb 2015

  Armetheon is a San Francisco Bay area clinical-stage specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on cardiovascular disease. Its lead candidate, tecarfarin, is a novel vitamin-K-antagonist (VKA) oral anticoagulant designed to avoid adverse drug reactions associated with warfarin. The company intends to use the Series B proceeds to advance tecarfarin through pivotal clinical development. Tecarfarin’s final pivotal study (TACT) is a 3,000-patient, open-label, real-world trial conducted under a Special Protocol Assessment agreed with the FDA in April 2014. The TACT trial will compare tecarfarin with warfarin across indications requiring oral anticoagulation, including underserved populations such as patients who respond poorly to warfarin and patients with prosthetic heart valves. The company is led by M. (Ken) Kengatharan, Ph.D., President and Interim CEO. Armetheon develops mid- to late-stage cardiovascular drug candidates with a focus on oral anticoagulation and atrial fibrillation. Its lead program is Tecarfarin, which is being investigated for all patients who require an oral anticoagulant, including those with mechanical heart valves. Earlier in the year the company reached agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) for the final pivotal trial, TACT, for Tecarfarin. The company raised $7.0m in a Series A financing to support its programs and to keep an NDA filing timeline in 2017 for Tecarfarin. Armetheon was founded in 2011 by M. (Ken) Kengatharan, PhD, who serves as President & COO. The company is based in the San Francisco Bay area.

• Apexigen

  Led · Series A · Aug 2013

  Apexigen develops antibody therapeutics for oncology using its proprietary APXiMAB discovery platform. Its lead program, APX005M, is a monoclonal antibody targeting CD40 and is in multiple Phase 2 clinical trials for various solid tumors. The company plans to use proceeds to support ongoing clinical development of APX005M and to advance at least one new proprietary immunotherapeutic into Phase 1. Apexigen and its licensees have seven products or product candidates discovered via APXiMAB that are commercially available or in clinical development. The company is led by President and CEO Xiaodong Yang and is based in San Carlos, California. Financially, the company has raised $158M in total equity to date following the recent Series C extension. Apexigen is a San Carlos, Calif.-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company led by Xiaodong Yang, M.D., Ph.D. The company develops a new generation of antibody therapeutics for oncology, with an emphasis on immuno-oncology agents. Its lead program, APX005M, is a novel humanized monoclonal antibody that targets CD40 and stimulates anti-tumor immune responses. Binding of APX005M to CD40 on antigen-presenting cells (dendritic cells, monocytes and B-cells) initiates a multi-faceted immune response involving T cells and macrophages. APX005M is in multiple Phase 2 clinical trials for indications including melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, pancreatic cancer and renal cell carcinoma in various combinations with immunotherapy, chemotherapy or radiation therapy. The company intends to use recent financing proceeds to advance clinical development of APX005M and to discover and develop its broader pipeline of therapies. Apexigen is a Burlingame, Calif.-based biopharmaceutical product development company founded in 2010 and led by President & CEO Xiaodong Yang, MD, PhD. The company is advancing a pipeline of humanized antibodies targeting cancer, inflammatory diseases and ophthalmic disease. Its lead program is APX005, a CD40 agonist immunotherapeutic that stimulates anti-tumor immune responses by binding CD40 on antigen-presenting cells, activating co-stimulatory pathways, and can also trigger direct tumor killing. Apexigen closed a $20m Series A1 financing to fund development. The company intends to use the funds to advance APX005 and to support the development of additional pipeline programs. In conjunction with the funding, Dr. George J. Lee of Amkey Ventures joined Apexigen’s board of directors.

No current team members are available.