Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Completes Series B Financing
Frederick Frank and Cerberus Capital Management are Lead Investors in $7 Million Round
Cambridge, MA, May 20, 2004 – Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced the completion of its Series B financing of $7 million. The proceeds will be used primarily to fund the company’s NDA-track Phase IIb clinical trial for BMIPP, its lead molecular imaging pharmaceutical candidate. This study will focus on BMIPP’s ability to detect cardiac ischemia in the emergency room setting. The company will also apply the Series B funds to expanding its research and development capability and supporting its pipeline of candidates in cardiology, oncology and neurology.
Lead investors in the round included a personal investment by Mr. Frederick Frank, Vice Chairman of Lehman Brothers and a leader in healthcare investment banking and Cerberus International, LP. Mr. Daniel Frank, Managing Director of Cerberus (no relation to Mr. Fred Frank) will represent the Series B shareholders on the Molecular Insight board of directors.
"We are very pleased that Fred Frank and Cerberus have made significant investments in the company. They are experienced business builders who share our strategic intent to establish Molecular Insight as a research-based leader in molecular imaging." said David S. Barlow, Chairman and CEO of Molecular Insight. "Just as the highest impact innovations in the computer industry shifted from hardware to software in the 1980s, the progress in medical imaging is increasingly focused on the development of novel molecular imaging pharmaceuticals that enable today’s advanced imaging equipment to deliver even greater value to patients, physicians, healthcare providers and payers."
With the completion of the Series B round, Molecular Insight has raised $23 million in private financing since its founding in 1998. In addition, the company has been awarded over $3 million for 20 grants sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, underscoring the strength of its technology base.
"We are excited about the significant potential for molecular imaging to meaningfully improve the quality and cost effectiveness of healthcare delivery. This potential appears to have been a key driver in General Electric’s announced $10 billion acquisition of Amersham," said Mr. Daniel Frank. "We are equally enthusiastic about the prospects for Molecular Insight's strong management team and pipeline to add significant value to this rapidly emerging field."
BMIPP – Lead Candidate
“BMIPP is a very well-understood molecule profiled in more than 200 peer reviewed journal articles and currently marketed in Japan,” said John Babich, Ph.D., President and Chief Scientific Officer of Molecular Insight. “We’ve recently initiated a Phase IIb clinical trial to evaluate BMIPP’s utility in the emergency department (ED) where accurately diagnosing ischemia remains a formidable challenge.”
According to Dr. Babich, the use of BMIPP may reduce unnecessary hospitalization and shorten the time to treatment that could result in improved patient management and an opportunity to salvage more heart muscle.
BMIPP is a novel molecular imaging pharmaceutical that has demonstrated the ability to detect cardiac ischemia without the need for a stress test. The company recently completed a multi-center Phase IIa clinical trial demonstrating that BMIPP can safely identify cardiac ischemia for up to 30 hours after the patient undergoes a scheduled stress test. According to the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology’s position statement on imaging patients with suspected ischemia in the emergency department, currently marketed perfusion agents (Cardiolite®, Myoview®, thallium) must be used within two hours of a suspected ischemic event.
About Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on leveraging its proprietary technology platforms in molecular medicine to develop innovative pharmaceuticals to diagnose and treat disease. These products are designed to improve the management of disease by targeting, visualizing, treating and monitoring disease at the molecular level. The company, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has established a strong pipeline of molecular imaging candidates focused on the large and growing markets in cardiology, oncology and neurology. Molecular Insight is also applying its platform technologies to develop targeted radiotherapeutics for the treatment of cancer.
Contact:
Priscilla Harlan
Vice President, Corporate Communications
Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
(617) 492-5554