Annual Report 2007 - Novartis Venture Fund

N ova r t i s
V e n t u r e F Un d s
activity
report
07
2 l activity report 2007
Contents
04 Introduction
06 Investment Philosophy and Focus
08 Highlights
12 Eleven years of Portfolio Development
14 Novartis Option Fund
16 Geographic Distribution
18 Product Pipeline
22 Private Equity Portfolio
30 Board of Directors
34 Fund Management Novartis Venture Fund
36 Fund Management Novartis Option Fund
38 Application and Funding
40 Contact Information
mission
statement
Investing in innovative life sciences concepts
for patient benefit creating attractive returns for
entrepreneurs and investors
4 l activity report 2007
introduction
daniel vasella
Letter from the Chairman
and CEO Novartis
grown from an initial USD 75 mio to an im-
2007 has been a particularly successful and
largest and most successful corporate funds.
pressive USD 600 mio, and is now one of the
active year for the Novartis Venture Fund.
I would also like to welcome Prof. Francis
Since its inception in 1996, the Novartis
Waldvogel as he takes over as the Chairman
Venture Fund has continuously invested in
of the Board of the Novartis Venture Fund in
innovative and promising early-stage busi-
January 2008. I am confident the Fund will
nesses, with a dedication to long-term com-
continue its superior performance under his
pany-building. The Fund made 11 first-time
leadership.
invest­ments in 2007, and we now have an
The environment the pharmaceutical in-
impressive list of 70 companies in our port-
dustry currently faces is rapidly changing,
folio. Since inception of the Fund we have
and discovering novel solutions is essential
made equity investments in 113 companies.
to future success in the health care indus-
Some examples of companies we invest-
try. I am pleased that so many of the inno-
ed in this year are Cequent Pharmaceuti-
vative, entrepreneurial companies we have
cals Inc. and Okairos. Cequent Pharmaceu-
invested in have grown and prospered. Our
ticals is utilizing its proprietary TransKing-
Venture Fund will continue to meet the chal-
dom RNA interference to deactivate specific
lenge of fostering innovation by contribut-
disease-causing genes to prevent and treat
ing to promising ventures that could bring
a wide range of diseases. The technology,
new concepts and medicines to fulfill future
based on research from the Beth Israel Dea-
healthcare needs.
coness Medical Center and Harvard Medical
School, uses non-pathogenic bacteria as an
engine to produce and deliver RNAi directly
into cells.
Our investment in Okairos, a Swiss vaccine company, will help finance the development of vaccines for mutating viruses. The
com­pany’s innovative synthetic T cell platform aids in the development of vaccines for
the prevention and treatment of life-threatening infections such as malaria and hepatitis C which have a global impact.
I would like to recognize Francois L’Eplat­
tenier as he retires this year, and congratulate him for his outstanding performance
and leadership as Chairman of the Board of
the Novartis Venture Fund over the last 11
years. Under his leadership, the Fund has
Dr. Daniel Vasella
introduction
françois l’eplattenier
Letter from the Chairman of the
Novartis Venture Fund
– the Fund focuses exclusively on life sciences,
Since its inception in May of 1996, I have had
financing to support start-up and maxi-
the privilege of being the Chairman of the No-
mize value,
vartis Venture Fund (NVF). At that time the
– Novartis BioVenture Fund has been inte-
main objectives were: foster entrepreneurship
grated in the Novartis Venture Fund,
while financially supporting our employees,
– strengthening of our management and
affected by the Novartis merger, who wanted
the opening of a second office in Cam-
to start their own businesses; and third party
bridge MA, USA.
projects such as those emerging from univer-
NVF will continue to play a key role in seeding
sities in the area of life sciences.
unique biotech companies. Despite the need
– there is a greater emphasis on follow-on
At the time, the following operating
for solutions to complex medical problems,
principals for the fund were defined and
access to seed money has become more dif-
implemented:
ficult for entrepreneurs to secure. For many
– focus on seed-financing of innovative pro-
investors early stage companies are viewed
grams that could be sustained by a com-
as too small and too risky to be of interest.
pelling business model, talented CEO and
This is unfortunate for both patients and the
management team,
life science industry. For as our track record
– invest with a long-term, patient perspective,
shows, with a competent and experienced
– foster lean organizations, capable of fast
management team, high risk innovation can
and efficient decision making,
also mean high reward.
– invest with criteria independent of Novar-
As I leave the NVF, I would like to express
tis business interests.
my gratitude to all members of this team
The outcome was a good success rate of the
and to thank them for their commitment and
companies we supported financially. We cre-
outstanding contributions. Many thanks also
ated an increasing number of high-quality
to my colleagues from the Advisory Board
positions. The NVF generated above average
for their active support, judicious advice and
rates of return compared to other private eq-
time spent on our leading edge venture.
uity investors, which all together have dem-
I am very pleased that Prof. Francis Wald-
onstrated that the principles chosen were the
vogel, former Chairman of the board of the
right ones.
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, has
Moreover, in financing spin-off activities
graciously accepted the position of Chairman
the NVF supported Novartis in its restructur-
of the NVF Advisory Board. Prof. F. Waldvogel
ing efforts after the merger.
has been a member of our Board since its
Of course some modifications in the way
the Fund operates have occurred since its
creation. I wish him great success and continued satisfaction in this new role.
creation:
– internal projects, submitted by Novartis
employees are now the exception,
Dr. François L’ Eplattenier
6 l activity report 2007
investment
philosophy and focus
Reinhard Ambros:
Executive ­Director of the
Novartis Venture Fund
Investment Focus
Our primary focus will remain on the development of novel therapeutics and plat-
We accomplished another year of substantial
forms. We balance the therapeutic focus
growth both in financial and human capital.
with investments in medical devices, diag-
Currently we manage more than USD 600
nostics or drug delivery systems. In our in-
mio and have expanded the investment teams
vestments we look for unmet need and clin-
in our two locations Switzerland and USA. In
ical impact, novel proprietary science and
2007 our portfolio increased by eleven new
understanding of mechanism, management
investments and now comprises over 60 com-
and board experience and capital efficiency
panies, making the NVF one of the world’s
in the program.
largest corporate biotech venture funds. Including the commitment of the investors, just
under USD 2 bn is currently invested in total into NVF portfolio companies. The demonstrated significant liquidity events over the
past decade continued this year and we are
confident in our purpose and our ability to
provide value beyond our investment dollars.
Investment Philosophy
We have been able to establish ourselves as
a trusted, respected and value-added investor. We look forward to continue operating as
a financially driven corporate life science investor offering support to those companies
which have the potential to lead the next innovation wave and explore new business ar-
We prefer to have our initial investment at
eas that will be critical to patient care and the
the early stage to build the company and
healthcare industry. The broad and substan-
follow with additional investment in pace
tial experience of the fund management team
with the company’s progress. We contin-
will contribute to the success of our portfolio
ue our approach of larger focused invest-
companies and we take an active role in nur-
ments and anticipate total investments up
turing and supporting our companies by hav-
to USD 15 – 20 mio per company over its life,
ing board or observer representation.
but it can be as little as 100 000 USD to get
started. We will increase our activities to lead
or co-lead deals further and remain open to
participate in larger syndicates.
Novartis Venture Fund is one of the world’s
largest corporate biotech Venture Funds
8 l activity report 2007
high
lights
IPO
In May 2007, Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Aileron Therapeutics Inc. is an emerging biopharmaceutical company that is applying its
made a public offering and was listed on the
proprietary cell permeable peptide technolo-
American stock market NASDAQ (SIRT). Sir-
gy to generate breakthrough therapeutics for
tris focuses on discovering and developing
the treatment of cancer and other diseases.
small molecule drugs to treat diseases as-
Aileron’s peptide “stapling” technology is the
sociated with aging, including metabolic dis-
first and only process that allows peptides to
eases such as Type 2 Diabetes.
penetrate cells in a sequence-independent
manner. Aileron is developing the first gen-
New Investments
eration of peptide therapeutics directed at
Ablation Frontiers Inc. has developed a set of
novel catheters and a unique energy source
for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias.
Conceptualized by leading clinicians at the
University of Michigan, Ablation Frontiers’s
products are CE mark approved and have an
ongoing US clinical study underway for the
treatment of atrial fibrillation. The Novartis
Venture Fund led the USD 21 mio Series C
round with an initial investment of USD 6 mio.
Steve Weinstein serves on Ablation’s board.
Adenosine Therapeutics LLC is dedicated to
development of novel pharmaceutical products that target adenosine receptor subtypes.
The company’s most advanced product is
Apadenoson, a highly selective A2A agonist,
in Phase III clinical development for use dur-
intra-cellular protein-protein interaction tar-
ing cardiac imaging. The Company is also de-
gets that are not addressable by small mole-
veloping drugs for the treatment of asthma,
cule or biological drugs. Apple Tree Partners
diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, oph-
and the Novartis Venture Fund co-led Aile-
thalmic disease and inflammatory indica-
ron’s USD 7 mio series C round. Campbell
tions such as sepsis, heart attack, ischemia-
Murray serves on Aileron’s board.
reperfusion injury, sickle cell crisis, vascular
injury, arthritis, spinal cord injury, COPD, and
Ascent Therapeutics Inc. is an emerging bio-
inflammatory bowel disease. Novartis Op-
pharmaceutical company developing a novel
tion Fund led Adenosine’s first institutional
approach to the treatment of human disease
investment round of USD 14 mio. Steve Tre-
that rapidly generates proprietary pharma-
gay serves on Adenosine’s board.
ceuticals critical to many disease processes.
Novartis Option Fund, HealthCare Ventures
cines for the prevention and treatment of
and TVM Capital Corporation co-led Ascent’s
major life-threatening viral infections of glob-
USD 19 mio Series A round. Lauren Silver-
al impact, including pandemic and season-
man serves on Ascent’s board.
al influenza. Immune Targeting Systems has
closed in July 2007 a Series-A equity fund-
Cellerix SA is a Madrid based biopharmaceu-
ing round led by Novartis Venture Fund for
tical company that is developing innovative
a total of USD 7 mio. Florent Gros serves on
medicines with lead clinical programs based
Immune Targeting System’s board.
on the use of stem cells of adult adipocytes
origin. The company is engaged in clinical
Locus Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a privately
trials for the treatment of fistulas and skin
held pharmaceutical company focused on
regeneration. Cellerix has closed in August
developing novel, small molecule therapeu-
2007 a Series-B financing round for a to-
tic drugs to address major unmet medical
tal of USD 38 mio, which is the largest ever
needs. Locus’ proprietary computational
funding for a Spanish biotech company. Flo-
technology rapidly and accurately identifies
rent Gros serves on Cellerix’ board.
the biologically relevant active binding site(s)
of a protein and simultaneously designs de
Cequent Pharmaceuticals Inc. is develop-
novo novel, small molecule antagonist or ag-
ing novel therapeutics to prevent and treat
onists of the protein’s activity. Locus’ pro-
a wide range of human diseases – from in-
cess is a de novo fragment-based approach
flammatory diseases to cancer – based on
that enables the identification of novel small
the company’s proprietary technology, Trans­
molecule drug candidates faster and on a
Kingdom RNA interference (tkRNAiTM). The
larger scale than has previously been pos-
company designed its powerful tkRNAi tech-
sible. Locus has generated a pipeline with
nology to deactivate specific disease-causing
on oral tubulin colchicine inhibitor in Phase
genes safely and effectively, using non-patho-
I and an allosteric p38 program in lead opti-
genic bacteria as an engine to produce and
mization. Locus closed on a USD 30 mio fi-
deliver RNAi directly into cells. It is based
nancing in February 2007. Novartis Bioven-
on ground-breaking scientific research origi-
tures Ltd., Prism Venture Partners and HBM
nating at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medi-
BioVentures (Cayman) Ltd. co-led the round.
cal Center / Harvard Medical School. Novartis
Markus Goebel serves on Locus’ board.
Option Fund was the largest investor of the
USD 9 mio Series A round. Steven Tregay
serves on Cequent’s board.
Immune Targeting System Ltd. is a London
based vaccine company developing vaccines
for mutating viruses. Its innovative synthetic
T cell platform allows to develop novel vac-
10 l activity report 2007
highlights
continued
NeoVacs SA is a Paris based vaccine com-
ously. Trellis raised USD 10 mio in a Series B
pany pioneering the next generation of anti-
Preferred Stock venture capital financing in
body therapies against human cytokines with
February 2007. New investor Novartis Ven-
a novel active immunization approach. Its in-
ture Fund led the round, with the participa-
novative platform is used to develop vaccine
tion of additional new investors Pac-Link Bio
products that are inducing e.g. an anti-TNFα,
Venture Investment Corporation and Saga-
anti-VEGF or anti-IFNα polyclonal responses,
more Bioventures LLC. Markus Goebel serves
and that are targeting broad pharmaceuti-
on Trellis’ Board.
cal markets. The company will soon engage
in clinical trials and has closed in June 2007
a Series-B financing round led by Novartis
Venture Fund for a total of USD 18 mio. Florent Gros serves on NeoVacs’ board.
Okairos is a spin-out of Merck from Italy, now
established as a Swiss based vaccine company, with a subsidiary in Italy, developing vaccines for mutating viruses. Its innovative viral
adenovirus T cell platform allows to develop
novel vaccines for the prevention and treatment of major life-threatening infections of
global impact, including malaria and hepatitis C. The company will soon engage in clinical trials. Okairos has closed in March 2007
a Series-A equity funding round for a total of
USD 7 mio. Florent Gros holds an observer’s
seat in the board.
Trellis Biosciences Inc. discovers and develops novel human antibody therapeutics as
treatment for infectious disease and oncology indications. The company leverages its
proprietary platform technology, CellSpot™,
to find rare human antibodies with superior
selectivity, affinity and other characteristics
and has built a pipeline of several early stage
monoclonal antibodies. CellSpot™ can isolate superior antibodies by directly screening for 10 different parameters simultane-
Selected Follow-On Investments
in 2007:
Acquired by Takeda in 2006, TOKSE: 4502
BioRelix Inc.
Torrey Pines Therapeutics Inc.
Cylene Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Reverse merger into Axonyx in 2006,
EraGen Biosciences Inc.
NASDAQ: TPTX
ESBATech AG
Evolva AG
EyeSense AG
Syrrx Inc.
CombinatoRx Inc.
IPO in 2005, NASDAQ: CRXX
FoldRx Pharmaceutical Inc.
GlycArt Biotechnology AG
Intradigm Corp.
Acquired by Roche in 2005, SWX: ROG
Nabriva Therapeutics.
Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Oncalis AG
IPO in 2005, NASDAQ: IDIX
Paratek Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Oscient Pharmaceuticals Corp.
Phenomix Corp.
IPO in 2005, NASDAQ: OSCI
Polyphor AG
ProCertus BioPharm Inc.
Symetis AG
Tepha Inc.
Silence Therapeutics plc
IPO in 2005, LON:SLN
Speedel Holding Ltd.
IPO in 2005, SWX: SPPN
Transform Pharmaceuticals Inc
Acquired by J&J in 2005, NYSE: JNJ
Xenoport Inc.
IPO in 2005, NASDAQ: XNPT
Selected Exits over Fund lifetime
Sirtris Pharmaceuticals Inc.
IPO in 2007, NASDAQ: SIRT
Acorda Therapeutics Inc.
IPO in 2006, NASDAQ (GM): ACOR
Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Reverse merger into Discovery Partners in
Eyetech Pharmaceuticals Inc.
IPO in 2004, NASDAQ: EYET
Kinetix Pharmaceuticals Inc
Acquired by Amgen in 2004, NASDAQ:
AMGN
Theravance Inc.
IPO in 2004, NASDAQ: THRX
2006, NASDAQ: INFI
Cytos Biotechnology AG
KuDOS Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
IPO in 2002, SWX: CYTN
Acquired by AstraZeneca in 2006,
IsoTis AG
NYSE: AZN
IPO in 2000, SWX: ISON
Miikana Therapeutics Inc.
Discovery Technologies AG
Acquired by EntreMed in 2006,
Acquired by Discovery Partners in 1999,
NASDAQ: ENMD
NASDAQ: INFI
12 l activity report 2007
eleven
years
of portfolio development
2007 was a year of strong investment activity­
As exits realized in the 11 years of the Fund’s
for the Novartis Venture Funds. Eleven first
existence have produced above average re-
time investments have been made. This re-
turns, the liquidity of the Fund remains high
flects the significant expansion of the manag-
and enables us continue investing larger
ing director team in late 2006 and early 2007.
stakes and enables us to support our in-
USD 57 mio have been invested. Thereof,
vestments through the portfolio companies’
USD 35 mio were first time investments.
development.
The actual number of companies into
which equity investments have been made
since the inception of the fund in 1996 rose
to 113. Accounting for five exits achieved in
2007, the number of current portfolio companies rose from 60 to 70. Nine out of the
70 companies are public, but remain on the
portfolio as of the end of 2007.
While in the early days of the Fund, many
smaller investments have been made, new
current investments tend to be larger. A
number of small equity investments (made
in the early days of the Fund) remain in the
portfolio, of which most are currently thriving as comparatively small businesses. The
Novartis Venture Fund is often active beyond
the seed investment stage. Experience demonstrates that to simultaneously sustain the
young companies and to protect early investments, it is essential to participate in followon rounds. Thus the Novartis Venture Fund
continues to actively support companies financially and as board representatives. In
2007, 19 Follow-on investments amounting
to USD 22 mio have been made. Novartis
Venture Fund is represented on 29 boards
and has observer status on 11 boards in its
70 portfolio companies.
Total
Equity Investment
2000
2007
Total
Equity Investment
2000: USD 64 mio
2007: USD 320 mio
Switzerland
EU
USA
Others
Switzerland
EU
North America
Other
2000: USD 64 mio
2007: USD 329 mio
Fate of investments
1996–2007
Portfolio
Total Equity
Commitments
Private
Companies
61
Public
Companies
9
Sold after IPO
8
Trade Sale/
Sale of Shares
15
Liquidation/loss
20
70
113
Realized Exits
43
14 l activity report 2007
Novartis
Option Fund
The Novartis Option Fund was designed
couple our investments with a limited option
to provide an alternative financing vehicle.
for Novartis, we are committed to build com-
The mission of this fund is to seed innova-
panies that will be attractive to many other
tive start-up companies during their earliest
life science partners in the biotech and phar-
stages. The initial equity investment is cou-
ma arena. Thus we finance in a syndicate
pled with an option to a specific therapeutic
along with other venture capitalists and our
program giving early validation for the start-
new financing model shall be to the benefit
up company’s technology or programs by a
of all parties involved.
large Pharma. However the scope of the op-
The Option Fund targets two or more in-
tion is limited. That is, the subject of the op-
vestments per year with 2007 investments
tion is not customarily a lead or necessarily
even an active program for the start up at
the time of investment. Rather the option is
structured in such a manner as to provide
the young company with the potential for
an additional opportunity for success. Thus
the option must be consistent with the new
company’s corporate development plans.
Moreover, the option is limited in duration
in order to maintain the full potential for
the start-up company in the market. In addition to the non dilutive cash payment to
secure an option to a specific program, license terms are negotiated at the time of investment and are based upon benchmarks
term relevant for the stage of the asset at
the time of option exercise.
The Option Fund has an initial size of USD
having been made in Adenosine Therapeu-
200 mio. The fund anticipates a total equi-
tics LLC, Ascent Therapeutics Inc. and Ce-
ty investment over the years of up to USD
quent Pharmaceuticals Inc. Per Peter Parker,
20 mio per company. Investments are re-
CEO of Cequent Pharmaceuticals Inc. “Given
viewed by a dedicated advisory board with
the profile of Novartis in the RNAi research
a majority of external members, chaired by
community, we could not have conceived of a
Dr. Spyros Artavanis-Tsakonas of Harvard
better outcome. With our lead program in co-
Medical School. The focus of investments is
lon-cancer prevention in pre-clinical develop-
on early stage, high risk / high return areas
ment, the option structure fits perfectly with
enabling the development of novel programs
Cequent’s corporate development plans.”
and technologies that may be complementary to Novartis’ research endeavors. While we
We seed innovative start-up companies
during their earliest stages
16 l activity report 2007
geographic
distribution
Selected Portfolio Companies
US and Canada 31
Ablation Frontiers
Adenosine
Aileron
Ancea
Ascent
BioCure
Biofisica
BioRelix
Catalyst
Cequent
Cylene
EraGen
FoldRx
GlycoMimetics
Intradigm
Kalypsys
Kémia
Locus
MicroCHIPS
Nereus
Novation
Omeros
Panomics
Paratek
Phenomix
ProCertus
PTC
Tepha
Trellis
Viron
ZymeQuest
Europe 7
Adamas
Cellerix
Destiny
Eyesense
Immune Targeting System
Nabriva
NeoVacs
Switzerland 18
CellnTec
Covagen
Covalys
Diagnoplex
ESBATech
Evolva
Genedata
MicroBios
NanoPowers
NovImmune
Okairos
Oncalis
Polyphor
Solvias
Swiss P.C.
Symetis
SynphaBase
The Genetics Company
Others 3
Singapore
MerLion
Singapore
S*Bio
New Zealand
Protemix
18 l activity report 2007
product
pipeline
Therapeutic Area
Company
Substance
MoA / Indication
Pre-
PhI
PhII PhIII
clinical
Cardiovascular
and Metabolism
A2A agonist / Heart attack /
Adenosine
Apadenoson
Cardiac imaging
ATL-906
A2B receptor antagonist
Catalyst
Alterase
Anti-complement
Evolva
0773201
Dual thromboxane antagonist PPARγ agonist
GlycoMimetics
GMI-1070
Selectin Inhibition
Kalypsys
KD3010
PPARδ agonist / Metabolic syndrome
KD3020
PPARδ agonist
Kémia
Oral KC706
P38 MAP / C ardiovascular risk
Neovacs
TNFα Kinoid
Anticytokine vaccine
Phenomix
PHX1149
DPP4 inhibitor / Diabetes
Protemix
PX811019
Copper chelation / Diabetic heart failure
EN122004
Skeletal muscle lipid breakdown
PX811013
TNF-alpha production inhibitor
PX811016
Amylin aggregation inhibitor
Viron
VT-111
Serine proteinase inhibitor / Acute
Coronary Syndromes
Infectious Diseases
Destiny Pharma XF Drugs
Evolva
0863314
Anti-fungal
GlycoMimetics
GMI-1051
PA-IL and PA-IIL antagonist
Immune Targeting Fluoropeptides
Photodynamic antibiotic
Influenza T cell vaccine
System
Kémia
CCR5 inhibitor
MerLion
Finafloxacin
CCR5 inhibitor
‘pH activated’ antibiotic /H.pylori, cUTI
Nabriva
BC-3205
Pleuromutilins antibiotic / MDR pathogens
BC-3781
Pleuromutilins antibiotic
BC-7013
Pleuromutilins antibiotic / MRSA
Neovacs
Tat Taxoid
Anti-viral regulatory protein vaccines /AIDS
Okairos
Ad 63
T cell vaccine / Malaria
Ad3NSmut
T cell vaccine / HCV
Paratek
MK-2764 PTK0796 Tetracyclin antibiotic / Hospital (Oral & IV)
and community infections
Tetracyclines
Tetracyclin antibiotic
Phenomix
HCV NS3 / NS3 / 4A inhibitors
4A inhibitors
*All information derived from the respective companies website or companies public information.
Therapeutic Area
Company
Substance
MoA / Indication
Pre-
PhI
clinical
Oncology
and Hematology
Adenosine
Apadenoson
A2A agonist / Sickle Cell
ATL-903
A2B receptor antagonist
Aileron
ALN-0001 series Apoptosis activator
ALN-0034 series
Apoptosis activator
Catalyst
VEGFR-2 Alterase
VEGF receptor cleaver
Cylene
CX-3543
rRNA biogenesis inhibitor / Solid tumors,
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia
CX-3773
rRNA biogenesis inhibitor
CX-3800 series
rRNA biogenesis inhibitor
CX-4945
rRNA biogenesis inhibitor
CX-1338
DNA modification
Intradigm
ICS-283
Anti-VEGF (RNAi)
Kalypsys
KD5170
HDAC inhibitor
B-Raf Inhibitors
B-Raf Inhibitor
Locus LP-261
tubulin Colchicine antagonist / Solid tumors, hematologic malignancies
LP-590
Multi-kinase inhibitor
Neovacs
VEGF Kinoid
Anticytokine vaccine
Nereus
NPI-2358
Vascular disrupting agent / Solid tumors
NPI- 0052
Proteasome inhibitor / Solid tumors, lymphoma multiple myeloma
NPI-1342 / 1387
NF-κB activation-regulator
Novation
Modulin
Radicocol analog
Oncalis
ONC101
Dual EphB4 / b-raf inhibitor
Polyphor
POL6326
CXCR4 inhibitors
ProCertus
ProDermaCel™,
Vasoconstrictor / Protection DermX, and OralX
for Radio- and chemo-therapy
PTC
PTC299
VEGF inhibitor / Solid tumors
S*BIO
SB939
HDAC inhibitor / Solid or hematological tumors
JAK-2 inhibitor
SB1518
PhII PhIII
20 l activity report 2007
product pipeline
continued
Therapeutic Area
Company
Substance
MoA / Indication
Pre-
PhI
PhII PhIII
clinical
Arthritis, Bone,
Gastrointestinal
Cellerix
Cx 401
Stem cells / Perianal fistulas (autologous)
Cx 601
Stem cells / Perianal fistulas (allogenic)
Kalypsys
Kinase inhibitor
P38 MAP
Kémia
Oral KC706
P38 MAP / Rheumatoid arthritis
Neovacs
TNFα Kinoid
Anticytokine vaccine / Crohn’s disease, RA
NovImmune
NI- 0401
Anti CD 3 hu MAb / Crohn’s disease
Viron
VT-200 Series
Chemokine inhibitor
VT-300 Series
Cytokine inhibitor
Transplantation
and Immunology
NovImmune
NI 0501
Anti IFN gamma
Viron
VT-111
Serine Proteinase inhibitor
Respiratory
Adenosine
ATL-907
A2B receptor antagonist
ATL-901
A2B receptor antagonist
GlycoMimetics
GMI-1043
Selectin inhibitor
Kémia
Topical KC706
P38 MAP kinase inhibitor
Genetic Diseases
FoldRx
Fx-1006A
Transthyretin amyloid inhibitor / Familial
Amyloid Polyneuropathy
PTC
Bypass nonsense mutation / C ystic PTC 124
fibrosis, Duchenne muscular dystrophy
Neuroscience
Kalypsys
KD7040
iNOS inhibitor / Neuropathic pain
Cellerix
Cx 501
Chimeric skin / Epidermolysis Bullosa
Neovacs
IFNα Kinoid
Lopus Anticytokine vaccine
Dermatology
*All information derived from the respective companies website or companies public information.
Medtech
Ablation Frontiers
Devices for treating cardiac arrhythmias
Biocure
Medical devices and biotechnology products
BioFisica
Posifect Bio-electric wound dressing
MicroCHIPS
Drug delivery device and diagnostic
NanoPower
Cardiac and sphincter implants
Omeros
Orthopedic OMS 103HP
Symetis
Stented heart valves
Tepha
Biodegradable polymers for multiple medical uses
ZymeQuest
Enzymatic blood conversion technology
Services and Tools
Adamas
Clinical consulting
CellnTec
Endothelial cell lines & media
Covalys
Protein tags for research
Genedata
Software services
MicroBios
Animal QA
Solvias
Chemical synthesis
Swiss Pharma Contract
Clinical contract research
SynphaBase
Chemical synthesis
Diagnostic
Eragen
Molecular diagnostics
Eyesense
Glucose monitoring eye implant
Panomics
Diverse kits + assays
The Genetics Co.
Alzheimer ABeta Kit
22 l activity report 2007
private
equity portfolio
Ablation Frontiers Inc.
Ancea Inc.
Keegan Harper, Carlsbad, CA, US,
Peter Villeneuve, Fort Collins, CO, US
www.ablationfrontiers.com
The company’s patent for cartilage repair
Ablation Frontier has developed novel cath-
covers a composite matter grown from tissue
eters and a unique energy source for the
and cells from the individual patient.
treatment of atrial fibrillation.
Ascent Therapeutics Inc.
Adamas Consulting Ltd.
Mike Webb, Sherborn, MA, US
Patricia Fitzgerald, Berkshire, UK,
Ascent Therapeutics is an emerging biophar-
www.adamas.co.uk
maceutical company developing a novel ap-
Clinical quality consultancy for pharmaceuti-
proach to the treatment of human disease
cal and biomedical industries. Services com-
that rapidly generates proprietary pharma-
prise clinical audits, quality management,
ceuticals critical to many disease processes.
computerized system validation audits and
tailored training courses.
BioCure Inc.
Andrew Maslaveckas, Norcross, GA, US,
Adenosine Therapeutics LLC
www.biocure.com
Robert Capon, Charlottesville, VA, US,
BioCure develops biopolymers and surface
www.adenrx.com
coatings for medical devices. The company’s
Adenosine Therapeutics is dedicated to devel-
current research is focused on materials for
opment of novel pharmaceutical products that
spinal disc injury.
target adenosine receptor subtypes across a
broad range of therapeutic applications.
Biofisica Inc.
Rafael V. Andino, Duluth, GA, US,
Aileron Therapeutics Inc.
Joseph A. Yanchik III, Cambridge, MA, US,
www.biofisica.com
Biofisica develops and markets products for
www.aileronrx.com
soft tissue wound healing and tissue regen-
Aileron Therapeutics is developing the first
eration based on an exclusive and proprie-
generation of peptide therapeutics directed
tary technology that uses electrical stimula-
at intra-cellular protein-protein interaction
tion and hydro-gel materials.
targets that are not addressable by current
drug modalities. The company’s proprietary
cell penetrating “Stapled Peptide” technology is being applied to generate breakthrough
therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and
other diseases. “Stapled Peptides” have the
potential to become a major new class of
drugs for intracellular and extracellular targets across therapeutic areas.
BioRelix Inc.
Cequent Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Brian Dixon, New Haven, CT, US,
Peter Parker, Cambridge, MA, US,
www.biorelix.com
www.cequentpharma.com
BioRelix discovers and develops antibiotics
Cequent is developing novel therapeutics to pre-
that target pathogens resistant to currently
vent and treat a wide range of human diseases –
available drugs by using novel patented bac-
from inflammatory diseases to cancer – based
terial RNA targets called “RiboSwitches™”.
on the company’s proprietary technology, Trans­
Kingdom RNA interference (tkRNAi™) which
Catalyst Biosciences Inc.
Nassim Usman, South San Francisco, CA, US,
­uses non-pathogenic bacteria as an engine to
produce and deliver RNAi directly into cells.
www.catalystbiosciences.com
Catalyst creates novel catalytic biopharma-
Covagen AG
ceutical products based on engineered hu-
Julian Bertschinger, Zürich, CH,
man proteases with the aim to establish pro-
www.covagen.com
tease therapeutics as a therapeutic platform.
Covagen develops protein therapeutics based
on an own protein engineering technology
Cellerix SA
and on Fynomers, a novel protein scaffold.
Eduardo Bravo, Madrid, ES,
www.cellerix.com
Covalys Biosciences AG
Cellerix SA is a Madrid based biopharmaceu-
Andreas Brecht, Witterswil, CH,
tical company that is developing innovative
www.covalys.com
medicines with lead clinical programs based
Covalys develops and commercializes novel
on the use of stem cells of adult adipocytes
technologies for protein labeling and immo-
origin, for the treatment of fistulas.
bilization using protein tags for directed covalent modification of proteins. Technologies
CellnTec Advanced Cell
Systems AG
available include the multi-purpose SNAPtag, and the ACP-tag.
Peter Girling, Bern, CH, www.cellntec.com
CellnTec produces a new standard of cell cul-
Cylene Pharmaceuticals Inc.
ture media and in-vitro cell cultures (adult
William G. Rice, San Diego, CA, US,
epidermal stem cells) that combine model-
www.cylenepharma.com
ing accuracy, longevity and stability for in-vi-
Cylene uses its proprietary Ribosomal RNA
tro studies of disease, toxicity screening or
Biosynthesis Inhibition Technology to cre-
functional genomics.
ate small molecule oncology products that
act through a validated anti-cancer pathway
and target a Protein:DNA complex (Nucleolin:G-Quadruplex) that is amplified in cancer
cells, thereby inducing apoptosis in the cancer cells but not normal cells.
24 l activity report 2007
private equity portfolio
continued
Destiny Pharma Ltd.
Evolva AG
Bill Love, Brighton, UK,
Neil Goldsmith, Basel, CH,
www.destiny-pharma.demon.co.uk
www.evolvabio.com
Destiny Pharma Ltd focuses on the treatment
Evolva evolves small molecule drugs using
and prevention of microbial infections. It is de-
massively combinatorial gene libraries that
veloping products which are effective against
drive chemistry-rich pathways. The pathways
hospital “superbugs” such as methicillin-re-
are bred in yeast and iteratively screened for
sistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
function. Its Watchmaker® generates mole-
Diagnoplex Biosciences Sàrl
ditional synthetic chemistry approaches. The
cules that are outside the scope of the traStavros Therianos, Lausanne, CH,
company will soon engage in clinical trials.
www.diagnoplex.com
Diagnoplex is leveraging its molecular plat-
Eyesense AG
form capabilities to develop a colorectal cancer
Peter Herbrechtsmeier, Grossostheim-
(CRC) screening test. Diagnoplex’s non-invasive
Frankfurt, D, www.eyesense.de
CRC test, named “COLOX”, will be made avail-
EyeSense develops an ophthalmic diagnos-
able as a ready-to-use clinical laboratory kit.
tics system which can measure glucose levels without sampling blood. It is based on
EraGen Biosciences Inc.
measuring the glucose in the interstitial flu-
Irene Hrusovsky, Madison, WI, US,
id below the conjunctiva of the eye using a
www.eragen.com
hand-held optical read-out device.
EraGen develops and commercializes high
performance automated molecular diagnos-
FoldRx Pharmaceutical Inc.
tics products to serve the growing markets for
Richard Labaudiniere, Cambridge, MA, US,
personalized medicine and rapid response
www.foldrx.com
needs for homeland security.
FoldRx develops small molecule therapeutics
to treat diseases of protein misfolding and
ESBATech AG
aggregation. Its pipeline is initially for he-
Dominik Escher, Schlieren, ZH, CH,
reditary amyloidosis and neurodegenerative
www.esbatech.com
diseases.
ESBATech develops therapeutic single-chain
fragment antibodies on the basis of its proprietary fully human antibody fragments for
the treatment of various inflammatory diseases. The established know-how and expertise in antibody engineering is employed for
the improvement and optimization of existing fragments for better stability and expression properties.
Genedata AG
Intradigm Corporation
Othmar Pfannes, Basel, CH,
Mohammad Azab, Palo Alto, CA, US,
www.genedata.com
www.intradigm.com
Genedata provides computational solutions
Intradigm is developing siRNA- derived can-
for drug discovery and systems biology re-
cer therapeutics utilizing its proprietary RNAi
search with a combination of software prod-
delivery technology. The company’s lead
ucts and professional services that have been
product ICS-283 is an anti-angiogenic VEGF-
developed in partnership with major pharma
targeted cancer therapeutic using the com-
and biotech companies.
pany’s proprietary RNAi delivery technology.
GlycoMimetics Inc.
Kalypsys Inc.
Rachel King, Gaithersburg, MD, US,
San Diego, CA, US, www.kalypsys.com
www.glycomimetics.com
Kalypsys is a drug discovery company us-
GlycoMimetics develops small molecule
ing a proprietary cellular ultra high-through-
drugs that mimic the functions of certain
put system to carry out massive drug screen-
carbohydrates. The company’s initial focus
ing in cellular models of human disease and
is on therapeutics to treat a variety of inflam-
toxicology.
matory conditions and an adjunctive therapy
for use with antibiotics in the treatment of
chronic Pseudomonas infections.
Kémia Inc.
Lewis Shuster, San Diego, CA, US,
www.kemia.com
Immune Targeting Systems Ltd.
Kémia discovers and develops novel small-
Carlton Brown, London, UK,
molecule therapeutics. Kémia has proprietary
www.its-innovation.co.uk
chemistries for allosteric inhibition of kinas-
Immune Targeting System Ltd. is a London
es and for modulation of GPCRs (G-protein
based vaccine company developing vaccines
coupled receptors), a multi-disciplinary ap-
for mutating viruses. Its innovative synthetic
proach to medicinal chemistry, and rigorous
T cell platform allows to develop novel vac-
ADME and pharmacokinetic evaluation inte-
cines for the prevention and treatment of
grated into the lead optimization process.
major life-threatening viral infections, including pandemic and seasonal influenza.
Locus Pharmaceuticals Inc.
H. Joseph Reiser, Blue Bell, PA, US,
www.locusdiscovery.com
The company’s core technology is a fragment-based, computational approach, which
Locus has combinated with highly integrated medicinal chemistry, crystallography and
biology capabilities to create a unique drug
design and development platform.
26 l activity report 2007
private equity portfolio
continued
MerLion Pharmaceuticals Pte Ltd.
Tony Buss, Singapore,
NanoPowers AG
Piergiorgio Tozzi, Lausanne, CH
www.merlionpharma.com
NanoPowers aims to develop artificial mus-
Merlion Pharmaceuticals maintains one of
cles for various implant indications. The lead
the word’s largest and most diverse collec-
program is to treat atrial fibrillation with the
tions of natural product samples, and has
application of a device to the exterior of the
an antiinfective compound in early clinical
heart to assist the pumping function.
development.
NeoVacs SA
MicroBios GmbH
Bruny Illgen-Wilcke, Reinach, CH,
Guy-Charles Fanneau de La Horie, Paris, FR,
www.neovacs.com
www.microbios.ch
NeoVacs SA is a Paris based vaccine com-
Microbios delivers services in quality assur-
pany pioneering the next generation of anti-
ance regarding the microbiological state of
body therapies against human cytokines with
test animals and their upkeep conditions as
a novel active immunization approach. Its in-
well as related services.
novative platform is used to develop vaccine
MicroCHIPS Inc.
anti-VEGF and anti-IFNα polyclonal respons-
products that are inducing e.g. an anti-TNFα,
John T. Santini, Bedford MA, US,
es, and that are targeting broad pharmaceu-
www.mchips.com
tical markets.
MicroCHIPS, Inc. develops devices for the
controlled release of drugs and the elective
Nereus Pharmaceuticals Inc.
exposure of biosensors using its patented
Kobi M. Sethna, San Diego, CA, US,
reservoir array technologies.
www.nereuspharm.com
Nabriva Therapeutics
Forschungs GmbH
cal diversity which together with it’s exper-
Nereus pursues untapped sources of chemitise in marine microbiology and integrated
Rodger Nowak, Vienna, A, www.nabriva.com
technologies enabled the identification and
Nabriva is a specialist antibiotic company
development of two oncology drug candi-
with the objective of discovering and devel-
dates which are in Phase I clinical trials.
oping innovative antibacterials positioned to
battle antibiotic resistance in Gram-positive
and Gram-negative pathogens.
Novation Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Ian McBeath, New Westminster, Canada,
www.novation-pharma.com
Novation is focusing on the development of
small molecular weight drugs that affect the
stability of messenger RNA. Initial development
efforts are on the treatment and prevention of
cancer and chronic inflammatory diseases.
NovImmune AG
Panomics Inc.
Jack Barbut, Geneva, CH,
Frank Witney, Fremont, CA, US,
www.novimmune.com
www.panomics.com
NovImmune is a drug development compa-
Panomics has a strategy to deliver high val-
ny focusing on immune mechanisms target-
ue innovative tools and solutions for Paral-
ed to inflammation. NovImmune has a port-
lel Quantitative Biology or “PQB”. PQB is
folio of fully human therapeutic monoclo-
defined as contextual, systems-level mea-
nal antibodies in development, including NI-
surements of genes, proteins and their cel-
0501 and NI-0401 (anti-CD3) at Ph IIa.
lular functions.
Okairos
Paratek Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Riccardo Cortese, Basel, CH, www.okairos.it
Thomas Bigger, Boston, MA, US,
Okairos is a Swiss based vaccine company,
www.paratekpharm.com
with a subsidiary in Italy, developing vac-
Paratek is engaged in the discovery and com-
cines for mutating viruses. Its innovative vi-
mercialization of new anti-infectives based on
ral adenovirus T cell platform allows to de-
novel tetracycline structures that allow for an-
velop novel vaccines for the prevention and
tibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.
treatment of major life-threatening infections,
including malaria and hepatitis C.
Phenomix Corporation
Laura Shawver, San Diego, CA, US,
Omeros Corporation
www.phenomixcorp.com
Gregory A. Demopulos, Seattle, WA, US,
Phenomix is a drug discovery and develop-
www.omeros.com
ment company focused on proven targets
Omeros is developing novel products that
in large markets. The company’s lead drug
are delivered directly to the site of tissue in-
candidate, PHX1149, is in Phase II testing
jury, preemptively inhibiting inflammation,
as an orally available treatment for type II
pain and other problems associated with
diabetes.
medical and surgical procedures.
Polyphor AG
Oncalis AG
Jean-Pierre Obrecht, Allschwil, CH,
Alcide Barberis, Schlieren, CH,
www.polyphor.com
www.oncalis.com
Polyphor delivers syntheses of focused li-
Oncalis is a spin-out from ESBATech with a
braries of small molecules and epitope mi-
yeast-cell-based screening technology which
metic proteins of high purity and in substan-
is used to identify specific inhibitors of hu-
tial quantity and performs lead optimization,
man Receptor Tyrosine Kinases. Initial lead
utilizing rapid parallel synthesis production.
compounds target EphB4 and b-Raf tyrosine
In parallel, Polyphor develops its own drugs
kinases.
and has a drug candidate for hematopoietic
stem cell transplantation in clinical Phase I.
28 l activity report 2007
private equity portfolio
continued
ProCertus BioPharm Inc.
Solvias AG
Paul M. Weiss, Madison, WI, US,
Hansjörg Walther, Basel, CH,
www.procertus.com
www.solvias.com
Procertus aims to discover and develop
Solvias is a scientific service company offer-
products that will protect cancer patients
ing a full range of expertise in synthesis, ca-
against chemotherapy- and radiotherapy-in-
talysis and analytics to support faster devel-
duced dermatological and gastrointestinal
opment and more economical production of
side effects.
drugs, particularly in the life sciences.
Protemix Corporation Ltd.
Swiss Pharma Contract AG
David Pool, Auckland, New Zealand,
Rolf Pokorny, Allschwil, CH,
www.protemix.co.nz
www.pharmacontract.ch
Protemix is a biopharmaceutical company
Swiss Pharma Contract is an international
dedicated to the discovery development
clinical contract research organization offer-
and commercialization of novel treatments
ing a variety of clinical pharmacology servic-
for cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus
es ranging from first testing in man to post-
and other metabolic disorders and disease.
marketing studies.
PTC Therapeutics Inc.
Symetis AG
Stuart Peltz, South Plainfield, NJ, US,
Jacques Essinger, Lausanne, CH,
www.ptcbio.com
www.symetis.com
PTC Therapeutics, Inc. is a biopharmaceuti-
Development of a catheter-mediated delivery
cal company focused on the discovery and
system on the beating heart to insert stented
development of orally administered, propri-
mechanical valves for application in cardiac
etary small-molecule drugs that target post-
valve replacement.
transcriptional control processes.
SynphaBase AG
S*BIO Pte Ltd
Jan-Anders Karlsson, Singapore,
Arthur Bodenmueller, Pratteln, CH,
www.synphabase.ch
www.sbio.com
SynphaBase offers custom-synthesis of life
S*Bio joined our portfolio as a former Chiron
science intermediate products obtained by
investment. S*Bio is a drug discovery com-
synthetic and bioorganic methods, including
pany with a small molecule approach to can-
chiral building blocks, amino and hydroxyl
cer targets.
carbonic acids and peptides /glycopeptides.
Tepha Inc.
Simon Williams, Lexington, MA, US,
ZymeQuest Inc.
Douglas Clibourn, Beverly, MA, US,
www.tepha.com
www.zymequest.com
Tepha’s proprietary technology utilizes ge-
ZymeQuest is the leader in the discovery, de-
netic engineering to produce bioabsorbable
velopment and commercialization of enzy-
polymers, known as polyhydroxyalkanoates
matic blood conversion processing systems
(PHAs). Potential products range from medi-
for use in blood transfusion medicine. Enzy­
cal devices, such as surgical patches, sutures
matic blood conversion enables the precise
and ligaments to cardiovascular stents and
and permanent conversion of groups A, B
drug delivery systems.
and AB red blood cells to ECO® (Enzyme
Converted O) red blood cells.
The Genetics Company AG
Mátyás Végh, Schlieren, CH,
www.the-genetics.com
The Genetics Company has developed and
is selling an Alzheimer antibody based diagnostic tool kit for research and clinical purposes. In addition, it is exploiting expertise
and preclinical assets achieved in the the
WNT-pathway relating to cancer.
Trellis Biosciences Inc.
Brian Cunningam, South San Francisco,
CA, US, www.trellisbio.com
Trellis Bioscience is a private biotechnology
company leveraging its proprietary CellSpot™
technology to deliver higher quality therapeutic monoclonal antibodies. The company has programs in infectious disease and
oncology.
Viron Therapeutics Inc.
James Rae, London, ON, Canada,
www.vironinc.com
Viron is focused on of novel anti-inflammatory therapeutics, in particular therapeutics
derived from viral proteins as a sustainable
and unexploited source of novel drugs.
30 l activity report 2007
board
of directors
novartis venture fund
Dr. François L’Eplattenier
Chairman
Former member of the Executive ­Committee
of Ciba-Geigy AG
Prof. Francis Waldvogel
Chairman as of January 2008
Former Chairman of the Board of the Swiss
Federal Institute of Technology, University
of Geneva, Switzerland
Prof. Jean-Marie Lehn
Nobel Prize Winner for Chemistry, Collège
de France, Paris, Université Louis Pasteur,
Strasbourg, France
Prof. Michel Aguet
Director of the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC) and the “Molecular Oncology” National Center for Competence in Research, School of Life Sciences at
EPFL, Epalinges s / Lausanne, Switzerland
Dr. Raj Parekh
General Partner at Advent Venture Partners,
London, UK
Prof. Antonio Borges
Managing Director Goldman Sachs
Dr. Raymund Breu
CFO, Novartis AG
Dr. Trevor Mundel
Global Development Franchise Director,
Immunology and Infectious Diseases,
Novartis Pharma
32 l activity report 2007
board
of directors
novartis option fund
Prof. Spyros Artavanis-Tsakonas
Chairman
Department of Cell Biology, Harvard
Medical School, Boston, USA
Prof. Dr. Daniel Louvard
Director of the Research, Institut Curie,
Paris, France
Prof. Joan S. Brugge
Chair of Department of Cell Biology,
Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
In addition the following people are supporting the Novartis Option Fund Board:
Dr. Trevor Mundel, Global Development Franchise Director, Immunology and Infectious
Diseases, Novartis Pharma; Anthony Rosenberg, Head of Global Business Development & Licensing, Novartis Pharma AG; and
Dr. Reinhard Ambros, Head of Novartis Venture Funds, Novartis International AG.
We support companies which have the
potential to lead the next innovations in healthcare and biotech
34 l activity report 2007
fund
management
novartis venture fund
Reinhard Ambros
Global Head of the Novartis Venture Funds. He
ma. Earlier in his career he had global leader-
was Managing Director of the Novartis BioVen-
ship positions for key drug development proj-
ture Fund in the USA. Previously, he worked
ects at Novartis and Roche. He trained as a
with Novartis Corporate Finance where he held
pharmacist, Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry and
the position of Head of Group Strategic Plan-
pharmacology and focused postdoctoral train-
ning for several years. He was responsible for
ing in clinical pharmacology. Selected board
post merger integrations at Novartis Corporate
memberships are at Cylene, Genedata, Micro-
M & A and was global head BD & L cardiovas-
CHIPS, Protemix, Symetis and works with ES-
cular and metabolic diseases at Novartis Phar-
BATech and NovImmune.
Florent Gros
joined the Novartis Venture Fund in 2007
(France), with diploma thesis made at Glaxo-
as a Managing Director. He brings over 15
Vaccine (Belgium). He also holds European
years of senior Intellectual Property, licens-
and French patent lawyer degrees, as well a
ing and entrepreneurial experiences, gained
Master in Private Law. He currently serves
at Nestlé, Aventis and Novartis, particularly
on the board of Immune Targeting Systems,
in the biologics and vaccine areas. Florent
Nanopowers, Neovacs, Oncalis, and Cellerix;
has a Biotechnology Engineering Degree
and works with Evolva, Nabriva and Okairos.
Ruedi Gygax
is Managing Director of the Novartis Venture
land, and Stanford University, California, prior
Fund since 1997. For nearly twenty years prior,
to joining Ciba-Geigy in 1978. He is a member
he held various positions in the management
of the board of BioCure, Cell-n-Tec, Covagen,
of research and development at Ciba, includ-
Santhera, SynphaBase, The Genetics Compa-
ing process safety and high-technology mate-
ny and works with Biofisica, Covalys Biosci-
rials research. Rudolf Gygax studied physical
ences, Destiny Pharma, Diagnoplex, EyeSense,
chemistry at the University of Basel, Switzer-
Polyphor, Solvias and Swiss Pharma Contract.
Anja König
joined as a Managing Director in 2007. Prior
a Ph.D. in physics from Cornell University.
to joining Novartis she was an Associate Part-
She currently serves on the board of Merlion
ner at McKinsey and Company, a global con-
Pharmaceuticals and works with S*Bio.
sultancy, where she worked with companies
in health care, pharmaceuticals and biotech
in the US, Europe and Emerging Markets. Anja König is a scientist by training and holds
Markus Goebel
joined as Managing Director in September
Strategy at Roche headquarters before join-
2004. Previously he worked as head Pharma
ing Novartis. Markus Goebel received an M.D.
Corporate M & A and head Nervous System
and a Ph.D. from the Ludwig Maximilian’s
BD&L Pharma. An M.D. by training and certi-
University in Munich and an MBA from Hen-
fied, amongst others, in Haematology / Oncolo-
ley. He currently serves on the board of Locus
gy he worked for Farmitalia Germany and later
Pharmaceuticals, EraGen Biosciences, Trellis
held several positions in R & D, Marketing and
Biosciences and FoldRx Pharmaceutical.
Campbell Murray
Campbell Murray is a Managing Director at the
sician and holds an MBA from Harvard Busi-
Novartis Venture Fund, in Cambridge, MA. Pri-
ness School and an MPP (public policy) from
or to joining the venture fund, he worked at the
the John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research al-
He serves as a director on the boards of Aile-
so located in Cambridge, MA. Campbell, who
ron Thera­peutics, BioRelix and ProCertus Bio-
is also par­ticipating in the Kauffman Fellow-
Pharm, Inc. and as an observer on the boards
ship (class 11), is a New Zealand trained phy-
of ­MicroCHIPS, Protemix, and Tepha, Inc.
Steven D. Weinstein
joined as a Managing Director in 2006. He
Funds. His early career was as an entrepre-
brings over 17 years of operating, entrepre-
neur where he raised angel funds to buy a
neurial, and venture capital experience. For
defunct distribution business out of bank-
five years prior, Steve was a Principal at
ruptcy and rebuild it. Steve holds an MBA
Prism Venture Partners, where he focused on
from the University of Michigan Business
medical devices and life sciences. At Prism,
School and a BS in mechanical engineer-
he served on the board of iScience Interven-
ing from Columbia University. He currently
tional, ROX Medical, and Sensitech Inc. (sold
serves on the board of Ablation Frontiers,
to Carrier). Previously, Steve was a Principal
and works with Catalyst Biosciences, Cylene
and Kauffman Fellow at Mid-Atlantic Venture
Pharmaceuticals, and GlycoMimetics.
36 l activity report 2007
fund
management
novartis option fund
Lauren Silverman
is a Managing Director of the Novartis Option
Fund, in Cambridge, MA. Prior to joining the
Option Fund she was Global Head of Oncology Research Operations for Novartis. Previously, Lauren spent much of her career in
Licensing & Business Development, first at
OSI Pharmaceuticals and later at Pfizer with
responsibilities in the areas of CNS, ophthalmology and oncology. Lauren was also a Director of Strategic Alliances and Head of Cell
Biology after having been a founding scientist of Cadus Pharmaceuticals. Lauren was a
postdoctoral fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Princeton University
and earned her Ph.D. in molecular biology
from the University of Utah. She is the author
of 12 scientific publications and 4 patents.
Lauren is a member of Ascent Therapeutics’
Board of Directors.
Steven Tregay
is a Managing Director for the Novartis Option Fund. Prior to joining the venture group,
he was the Executive Director and Head of
Strategic Alliances-Oncology, Ophthalmology
and Technologies at the Novartis Institutes for
BioMedical Research. He managed a team
who were responsible for identification, negotiation and management of collaborations
for the Oncology and Ophthalmology disease
areas and the Technology areas of Novartis
Research. Prior to Novartis, he had roles in
business development at Array BioPharma
and also research. He received his Ph.D. and
M.S. in organic chemistry from Harvard University and a B.S. from Davidson College. He
currently serves on the boards of Adenosine
Therapeutics and Cequent Pharmaceuticals.
Building biotech companies which focus on
unmet medical need
38 l activity report 2007
applications
and funding
Profile of investments
The Novartis Venture Funds invest in enterprises characterized by outstanding entrepreneurs and management teams developing innovative technologies with the potential of disrupting existing, or creating new
markets and delivering significant patient
benefits.
Our investments range from early startup companies and Series A investment,
which we intend to support through followon rounds, to more advanced private companies active in Life Sciences. Our key interest is in new therapeutics and platform technologies which we complement with investments in medical devices, diagnostics / biomarkers and drug delivery technologies.
Submission, evaluation and
investment process
Please contact one of the Fund Managers
closest to the company site for an initial review. The further evaluation of the business
proposals is then based on supporting technical materials such as an executive summary, business plan or investment memorandum. Consecutive meetings with the management team and presentations will start
the full due diligence process.
Investments by the Novartis Venture
Funds are made as equity participation either as lead or co-lead investor or in a syndicate through contractual arrangements between the ­Novartis Venture Funds and the
recipient directly.
www.venturefund.novartis.com
The broad and substantial experience of
the fund management team will contribute to
the success of our portfolio companies
40 l activity report 2007
contact
information
Team Basel, Switzerland
Simone Forrer
Dr. Anja König
Office Manager
Managing Director
Novartis Venture Funds
Novartis Venture Funds
Novartis International AG, Forum 1– 3.73
Novartis International AG, Forum 1– 3.59
P.O. Box, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
P.O. Box, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
Phone:+41 61 324 32 67
Phone:+41 61 324 12 87
Fax:
E-mail:anja.koenig@novartis.com
+41 61 324 86 79
E-mail: simone.forrer@novartis.com
Dr. Reinhard J. Ambros
Executive Director
Novartis Venture Funds
Novartis International AG, Forum 1– 3.71
P.O. Box, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
Phone:+41 61 324 78 96
E-mail: reinhard.ambros@novartis.com
Florent Gros
Managing Director
Novartis Venture Funds
Novartis International AG, Forum 1– 3.77
P.O. Box, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
Phone:+41 61 324 04 91
E-mail:florent.gros@novartis.com
Dr. Ruedi Gygax
Managing Director
Novartis Venture Funds
Novartis International AG, Forum 1– 3.75
P.O. Box, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
Phone:+41 61 324 68 09
E-mail:rudolf.gygax@novartis.com
Team Cambridge, MA, USA
Saken Pillay
Dr. Steven Tregay
Office Manager
Managing Director
Novartis Venture Funds
Novartis Venture Funds
Novartis Services, Inc.
Novartis Services, Inc.
Five Cambridge Center,
Five Cambridge Center,
Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
Phone:+1 617 871 3536
Phone:+1 617 871 3207
Fax:
E-mail:steven.tregay@novartis.com
+1 617 225 0934
E-mail:saken.pillay@novartis.com
Steven D. Weinstein
Dr. Markus Goebel
Managing Director
Managing Director
Novartis Venture Funds
Novartis Venture Funds
Novartis Services, Inc.
Novartis Services, Inc.
Five Cambridge Center,
Five Cambridge Center,
Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
Phone:+1 617 871 7800
Phone:+1 617 871 7782
E-mail: steven.weinstein@novartis.com
E-mail:markus.goebel@novartis.com
Dr. Campbell Murray
Managing Director
Novartis Venture Funds
Novartis Services, Inc.
Five Cambridge Center,
Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
Phone:+1 617 871 4401
E-mail: campbell.murray@novartis.com
Dr. Lauren Silverman
Managing Director
Novartis Venture Funds
Novartis Services, Inc.
Five Cambridge Center,
Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
Phone:+1 617 871 3762
E-mail:lauren.silverman@novartis.com
www.venturefund.novartis.com
Novartis Venture Funds: Innovation,
Patient Benefit, Superior Returns
Design: Schaffner & Conzelmann, designersfactory.com