Press Release:
CYTOCHROMA INC. ANNOUNCES COMPLETION
OF $21 MILLION FINANCING ROUND
Markham, ON – January
17, 2007 – Cytochroma
announced today that it has secured $21 million in new funding
for the advancement of product development programs targeting
vitamin D deficiency and related diseases in chronic kidney
disease (CKD). The new funding will support clinical trials
with three investigational new drug products which are scheduled
to begin in 2007. The financing round was led by The
VenGrowth Advanced Life Sciences Fund, Novo A/S, and GeneChem
Technologies Venture Fund.
Cytochroma’s lead products include new treatments for
secondary hyperparathyroidism and vitamin D deficiency in patients
with CKD. CTAP201 is a new treatment for secondary hyperparathyroidism
in patients with CKD. A follow-on compound, CTA018, utilizes
a novel, dual mechanism of action to both activate the vitamin
D hormone receptor and prevent vitamin D hormone catabolism,
which improves efficacy. CTAP101 will treat vitamin D
deficiency, which is now recognized as a common untreated disorder
in the CKD patient population. According to published
literature, there are approximately 6.5 million CKD stage
3-5 patients in North America with low levels of 25(OH)D, an
accepted measure of vitamin D status. This number is
expected to growth to over 9 million patients by 2010. New
therapies are needed to address this unmet medical need.
“We believe that Cytochroma is uniquely
positioned to drive investor returns with high value pharmaceutical
products, and the Company has demonstrated its ability to
execute clinical development programs,” stated Luc Marengère, Ph.D.,
Managing General Partner at VenGrowth.
“This new financing will allow Cytochroma
to achieve key milestones in the advancement of our product
portfolio into the clinic,” stated Charles Bishop, Ph.D., President
and CEO of Cytochroma. “We
are excited about our new vitamin D products, and are aggressively
moving our clinical plan forward in 2007.”
About Cytochroma Inc.
Cytochroma Inc. is an integrated specialty pharmaceutical company
engaged in the development and commercialization of proprietary
products to treat and prevent the clinical consequences of diseases
and disorders related to vitamin D deficiency. The company has
an advanced portfolio of new products targeting vitamin D deficiency
and secondary hyperparathyroidism in patients with moderate to
severe chronic kidney disease and end stage renal disease. In
addition, the company is developing novel vitamin D therapies
to treat hyperproliferative disorders such as cancer and psoriasis.
Cytochroma is a privately held company with offices in Markham,
Ontario and Madison, Wisconsin.
For information
contact:
Eric J. Messner
Vice President
Commercial
Operations
905-479-5306 ext.
338
eric.messner@cytochroma.com
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