2012 “Fierce 15” — The Best and Brightest in Biotech — Announced Today at BioPharm America™ in Boston

BOSTON & WASHINGTON & CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--This year’s announcement of the best and brightest emerging biotech companies took place at BioPharm America™ in Boston today. The Fierce 15 is a much anticipated who’s who list of annual awardees created by FierceBiotech recognizing the 15 most promising private biotech companies in the world.

“We like to recognize biotechs who boldly set out to blaze new paths. And we recognize that in an industry like drug development, not everyone makes it to the finish line. But there’s more here than a willingness to accept risk”

The 2012 winners are AC Immune SA, Alkeus Pharmaceuticals, Angiochem, Aragon Pharmaceuticals, bluebird bio, Celladon Corporation, Ember Therapeutics, Enanta Pharmaceuticals, EnVivo Pharmaceuticals, Foundation Medicine, Mersana Therapeutics, miRagen, Okairos, PROSENSA, and Seaside Therapeutics.

“Fierce 15 companies represent some of the most exciting ‘partnerable’ companies in the industry. We are really pleased to be working with FierceBiotech — and to help them celebrate the tenth anniversary of this award,” said Carola Schropp, President of EBD Group.

“We like to recognize biotechs who boldly set out to blaze new paths. And we recognize that in an industry like drug development, not everyone makes it to the finish line. But there’s more here than a willingness to accept risk,” said FierceBiotech Editor-in-Chief John Carroll. “If anything, the growing appetite for risk reflected in this year’s Fierce 15 raises the odds against successful drug development, but improves the odds of a genuine breakthrough.”

The thrilled award winners commented on their election:

• “We at Angiochem are honored to be named a Fierce 15 biotech company in recognition of our successful use of the LRP-1 mediated pathway to create peptide-drug conjugates that readily penetrate the brain. With our technology, we expect that entities such as enzymes and mAbs, previously excluded from the brain, will be available as CNS treatment. Our pipeline of peptide-drug conjugates includes potential treatment for brain cancer, lysosomal storage diseases, pain, and others.” — Jean Paul Castaigne, MD, President and CEO, Angiochem.
• “Gene therapy has come a long way over the last several years toward realizing its potential as a powerful treatment modality, and being named to the Fierce 15 this year is an honor for bluebird bio. We are committed to improving the lives of patients with severe genetic diseases through one-time transformative gene therapy.” — Nick Leschly, CEO, bluebird bio
• “Ember is honored to be selected as a 2012 Fierce 15 company. This recognition is a testament to our scientific co-founders, our experienced team and our collective ability to emerge as a leader of new approaches to metabolic disease. Since formally launching the company less than a year ago, we have made significant progress advancing our brown fat and selective insulin sensitization programs and look forward to an important 2013 for the company. We are proud to receive this recognition amongst our industry colleagues at BioPharm America.” — Lou Tartaglia, PhD, President and Interim CEO, Ember Therapeutics
• “It is an honor for the EnVivo team to receive this recognition among this year’s exceptional Fierce 15 companies and at a collaborative partnering event like BioPharm America. This has been a groundbreaking and transformative year for EnVivo and the company’s broad CNS pipeline. We recently announced positive Phase IIb results from our lead program in Alzheimer’s disease and are excited to be advancing the compound into a Phase III clinical trial in schizophrenia this fall and another Phase III trial in Alzheimer’s disease early next year. These milestones are key as we advance toward our goal of building a fully integrated biotechnology company with R&D and commercialization capabilities.” — Kees Been, President and CEO, EnVivo Pharmaceuticals
• “We are honored to be named to the 2012 Fierce 15 and believe this is a testament to the progress Foundation Medicine continues to make toward our vision of transforming cancer care through the development of our fully informative genomic profile. With the launch of our first clinical product FoundationOne™ and multiple pharmaceutical industry partnerships secured this year, BioPharm America will provide a valuable forum for us to share with the partnering community how our technology can identify the genomic drivers that are key to matching cancer patients with the best treatment for their disease.” — Michael J. Pellini, MD, President and CEO, Foundation Medicine
• “We are extremely pleased and honored to be among this year’s Fierce 15. This recognition is shared by all those who have worked with such skill and dedication over the past nine years: our employees, our investors, our partners and the broad Alzheimer’s disease community. We are proud to have built one of the broadest and most advanced Alzheimer’s pipelines in the industry, and we will continue our passionate search for effective therapies and diagnostics for this devastating neurodegenerative disease, one of the biggest healthcare problems of this century.” — Andrea Pfeifer, PhD, CEO and Co-Founder, AC Immune SA
• “We are very pleased and honored to be selected as a member of the 2012 Fierce 15. Mersana’s Fleximer platform is poised to create the next generation of products in the very exciting field of antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) and recognition of our efforts at this important partnering meeting is highly appreciated. We look forward to advancing our collaborations with leading companies as well as to growing our internal development pipeline so that this very promising technology can benefit cancer patients.” — Nicholas G. Bacopoulos, PhD, President & CEO, Mersana Therapeutics
• “miRagen is dedicated to improving patients’ lives through the discovery and development of innovative microRNA-based therapeutics. Recognition as a Fierce 15 company is a true honor and reflects our commitment to harness the power of microRNA biology to treat diseases where targeted pathway intervention may offer a hope for treatments that have previously been elusive. We look forward to the opportunity to discuss our pipeline of drug candidates with potential partners at BioPharm 2012.” — William S. Marshall, PhD, Co-Founder, President and CEO, miRagen
• “PROSENSA is very pleased to have been recognized as a ‘fierce’ biopharmaceutical company. Thanks to our partnerships with patient organizations, academia and pharmaceutical companies, along with the support of our investors, we will passionately continue on our path of growth to become a leading rare disease player with an initial focus on Duchenne muscular dystrophy, myotonic dystrophy and Huntington’s disease. PROSENSA’s platform of RNA modulation can be applied to a large number of unmet medical needs. BioPharm America is a great opportunity to discuss with potential partners the progress we have made.” — Hans Schikan, CEO, PROSENSA

The event, organized by EBD Group, the leading partnering firm for the life science industry, is being held September 19–21, 2012, at the Westin Boston Waterfront in Boston, MA, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MassBio).

For more coverage on this year’s Fierce 15, go to FierceBiotech.com

Video coverage of the Fierce 15 awards and other highlights from BioPharm America 2012 will be posted online at http://www.ebdgroup.com/bpa/media/videos.php

About BioPharm America 2012

BioPharm America is where biotech industry partnerships get started. Meet face-to-face with biotech and pharma executives from around the world to identify and enter strategic relationships. Equipped with partneringONE®, BioPharm America is the only event in North America based on the same reputable formula as EBD Group’s acclaimed European events BIO-Europe® and BIO-Europe Spring®.

Additional links and information:

Follow BioPharm America 2012 on Twitter: twitter.com/ebdgroup (hashtag: #BPA12)

About MassBio

MassBio, a not-for-profit organization that represents and provides services and support for the Massachusetts biotechnology industry, is the nation’s oldest biotechnology trade association. Founded in 1985, MassBio is committed to advancing the development of critical new science, technology and medicines that benefit people worldwide. Representing over 600 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, research hospitals, and service organizations involved in life sciences and healthcare, MassBio works to advance policy and promote education, while providing member programs and events, industry information, and services.

About EBD Group

EBD Group is the leading partnering firm for the global life science industry. Since 1993, biotech, pharma and medical device companies have leveraged EBD Group’s partnering conferences, technology and services to identify business opportunities and develop strategic relationships essential to their success.

EBD Group’s conferences are run with the support of leading corporations and international trade associations and include:

• BIO-Europe® and BIO-Europe Spring®, Europe’s largest life science partnering conferences, supported by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO)
• BioPharm America™, the fastest growing partnering event in North America
• Biotech Showcase™, a unique forum in San Francisco for presenting to investors and business development executives, co-produced with Demy-Colton Life Science Advisors
• BioEquity Europe, the investor conference co-organized with BioCentury Publications and BIO
• ChinaBio® Partnering Forum, the first dedicated biotech/pharma partnering conference in China, co-produced with ChinaBio® LLC
• EuroMedtech™, EBD Group’s partnering event for the innovative medical technology industry
• Partnering for Global Impact®, a new partnering conference providing an innovative forum to partner, identify and generate social and philanthropic investment and funding opportunities

EBD Group’s sophisticated web-based partnering service, partneringONE®, is also used as the partnering engine at numerous third-party events around the world, and partnering360® is the open online community of life science dealmakers that enhances partnering experiences all year long.

Outside of the conference format, EBD Group’s consultants provide hands-on assistance for firms seeking to in- or out-license products and technologies.

EBD Group has offices in the USA and Europe.

For more information please visit www.ebdgroup.com.