• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Cempra Pharmaceuticals Raises $14 Million Round of Financing; Drug Development Company Focused on Anti-Infectives Closes First Institutional Round

Posted on: Wednesday, 16 August 2006, 09:00 CDT

Cempra Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company developing anti-infective medicines, announced today that it has closed a $14 million financing round.

Venture capital firm Intersouth Partners and investment banker I. Wistar Morris, III co-led the Series A round. The financing, which will be used to expand product development and to grow the portfolio of products, is Cempra's first institutional round of funding. Garheng Kong of Intersouth Partners will join Wistar Morris on the company's Board of Directors.

Cempra's development program is addressing the growing need for better and safer antibiotics that act against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Bacterial drug resistance is a significant problem in treating infection, and will continue to be a challenge to physicians and patients as the use of antibiotics expands. Cempra's first program focuses on the need for a new generation of advanced macrolides that will address this issue of resistance while providing better safety and efficacy. The company was founded in January 2006 by a team with experience in discovering and developing anti-infectives and is supported by a world-class Scientific Advisory Board and advisor group comprised of renowned industry experts.

"We believe that Cempra is positioned to make significant breakthroughs in macrolides that will serve thousands of patients every year," said Garheng Kong of Intersouth Partners. "The company's proprietary chemistry platform will enable a series of macrolides previously unavailable. We're excited to be working with Cempra to develop this important class of drugs."

Wistar Morris, who has been acutely aware of the need to develop new antibacterials agents, said, "Under Prabha Fernandes' entrepreneurial leadership, we expect other antibiotic platforms opportunities will occur."

"We are very pleased to have this funding as we add to our experienced team and work towards developing the products that will help address the global threat of antibiotic resistance," said Prabhavathi Fernandes, President & CEO of Cempra Pharmaceuticals. "With the support of our financial partners, the Cempra team is eager to build a portfolio of anti-infective agents."

About Cempra Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Cempra Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biotechnology company founded to capture near-term value from market opportunities in antibiotics to meet urgent and continuing needs related to treating drug-resistant bacteria in the hospital and community. The strategy is based on the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry experience of Cempra's founders and advisors in the areas of drug development and anti-infectives. Cempra's approach is to balance near-term product development opportunities while investing in future products from new technologies to derive the next generation of macrolides as well as other classes of antibiotics. For more information, visit www.cempra.com.

Source: Business Wire

More News in this Category