10 November 2003
Amsterdam, Munich, November 10, 2003 – Life Sciences Partners (LSP) has today made an initial commitment to NeuroNova AG in Munich, Germany, as part of a €4 million round of equity financing.
NeuroNova is a bio-pharmaceutical company in the field of affective disorders. Its main founder, Prof. Florian Holsboer, is the Director of the Max-Planck-Institute for Psychiatry in Munich which he has established during the past decade as one of the world leading centers in the research and clinical development of therapies for psychiatric disorders. Prof. Holsboer has made ground-breaking contributions to the field of depression and anxiety disorders and has paved the way for several collaborative undertakings with pharmaceutical companies in order to discover and develop better drug treatments for psychiatric disorders. Dr. Herbert Stadler, also a founder, is the former CEO of Develogen AG in Göttingen, Germany, and of other successful biotech enterprises. He will assume the role of CEO of NeuroNova going forward. Another founding shareholder is the Max-Planck-Society, in recognition of its important contributions to NeuroNova AG and its continued support of this exciting new company.
Prof. Florian Holsboer, Director at the Max-Planck-Institute for Psychiatry and Chairman of the Board of Directors of NeuroNova, is delighted about the start of operations: “The other founders and I have been working very hard for this moment and it is with great satisfaction that we see the commitment and support of a reputable and experienced group like LSP to NeuroNova despite adverse market conditions for start-ups. This funding will enable us to energetically pursue in- and out licensing options available to us as well as to start our first collaborations with the pharmaceutical industry.”
Dr. Joachim Rothe, Partner of LSP, and the Vice Chairman of NeuroNova's Board of Directors, is enthusiastic about the prospects of the company: “From day one, NeuroNova will establish itself as a serious contender in CNS drug discovery and development. Start-up financings have been few and far between in Europe this year and there is a good reason why NeuroNova is one of the rare exceptions: The mix of highly experienced professionals with a number of exciting R&D programs and plausible near-term revenues makes this opportunity unique. The fact that we have been selected to lead the deal is a very pleasing validation of LSP as a value-added investor. We are extremely excited to be able to work with NeuroNova”.
Dr. Herbert Stadler, CEO of NeuroNova, agrees: “The whole founding team and I are more than pleased to have won the trust of investors like LSP. The financing provides us with a solid basis on which we will build the organization and, at the same time, push the various commercial programs of NeuroNova forward. We were very pleased with our smooth and flexible interaction during the due diligence and we are much looking forward to a dynamic and productive interaction with LSP.”
Life Sciences Partners (LSP) is a leading European venture capital firm, providing private equity capital to early-stage life sciences companies. Based in Amsterdam and Munich, LSP's management has focused on investing in human life sciences since 1988. Typically, LSP is actively involved in building value as lead investor and board member at the start-up phase of a company. The partners of the fund have invested in more than 30 life science companies and have created 11 successful exits, a.o. Rhein Biotech (NL), Qiagen (DE), Biora (SE), Quadrant (GB), Sequenom (DE/USA) and Crucell (NL). LSP currently has € 170 million in capital under management. For more information, please refer to www.lsp.nl
For further information please contact:
Dr. Joachim Rothe
LSP Munich
t +49 (0) 89 330 666-0
f +49 (0) 89 330 666-29
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Dr. Herbert Stadler
CEO, Neuronova AG
t +49 (0) 89 306 22-591
f +49 (0) 89 306 22-370
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