Winston-Salem, NC Mar 19, 2003
Targacept, Inc., a privately held company focused on central nervous system (CNS) diseases, announced today that it has completed its second round financing following a second closing of $14 million bringing the total funds raised in this round to $60 million. The financing was led by Nomura International’s Healthcare Private Equity Group, based in London.
The investors participating in this second closing include Oxford Bioscience Partners, JAFCO, Cogene Biotech Ventures, Bison Capital and Rock Castle Ventures. In December, Targacept announced the first closing that raised $46 million from Nomura, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), CDIB BioScience Ventures, Easton Hunt Capital Partners and the full syndicate of Targacept’s first round investors: EuclidSR Partners, Burrill & Company, Advent Venture Partners, Auriga Ventures, CDC-IXIS Innovation, Genavent Fund, SGAM Biotechnology Fund and Academy Venture Fund.
Targacept also announced that Alan Walton has been elected to the company’s board of directors. Dr. Walton is a Senior General Partner and Chairman of Oxford Bioscience Corporation. Dr. Walton joined Oxford in 1987 and has led Oxford’s investment strategy in genomics and biotechnology. Dr. Walton’s portfolio includes founding investments in Human Genome Sciences, Gene Logic, Genetic Therapy, Exelixis, and Geron, and he currently sits on the board of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE), Research!America, and is Chairman of Avalon Pharmaceuticals, Psychiatric Genomics, Endogeny Bio Corporation and Asterand, Inc.
“Oxford normally invests in early stage companies but the experienced management, exciting platform technology, and series of clinical and lead compounds led us to believe that this would be an excellent investment,” stated Dr. Walton.
J. Donald deBethizy, President and CEO of Targacept said, “We are delighted with the support we are receiving from investors and are pleased to welcome Dr. Walton to our board of directors. These funds provide further endorsement of the potential of our product portfolio and underlying technology platform and will allow us to rapidly progress the development of our clinical and late stage preclinical candidates. We now have the capital and infrastructure to help us build one of the leading biotechnology companies in the CNS space.”
“The additional funds raised provide Targacept with an extended runway in very challenging market conditions,” said Denise Pollard-Knight, Head of Healthcare Private Equity at Nomura. “The $60 million raised in this round will allow the company to hit a number of key clinical milestones and will provide additional strategic flexibility.”
About Targacept
Targacept, Inc. is a world leader in the discovery and development of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor-based therapies for neurodegenerative, neuropsychiatric and gastrointestinal diseases. The company has products in research and development for treating Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Lewy body dementia, ulcerative colitis, depression, pain, anxiety disorders and schizophrenia. The company has a strategic alliance with Aventis Pharma SA to discover, develop and commercialize Targacept compounds for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and a strategic alliance with Dr. Falk Pharma GmbH to develop a new class of drugs to treat ulcerative colitis. Additional information may be found on the company’s website: www.targacept.com.