PolyActiva Raises AUD$9.2M in Series B Venture Funding

MELBOURNE, Australia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PolyActiva announced today that it has raised AUD $9.2 Million in a Series B financing round from a consortium of investors including the Medical Research Commercialisation Fund (MRCF) and Brandon Biosciences Fund 1 (BBF1) (both managed by Brandon Capital), Yuuwa Capital and additional participation from angel investors.

“It is a significant achievement in the current financial environment for an early stage company to have attracted this level of funding from new investors and it reflects the confidence the investors have in the quality of PolyActiva’s technology and the commercial potential of its products.”

PolyActiva said the funds will be used to further the preclinical and clinical development programs of its products under development, including an intra-ocular implant to treat glaucoma, an intra-ocular implant to treat severe infections of the eye and an intra-articular product to treat osteoarthritis.

Dr Russell Tait, CEO of PolyActiva, commented:

“The funding significantly transforms our business by providing sufficient funds to take each of our planned development programmes to clinical proof of concept. The investment reflects the confidence our investors have in our capacity to deliver. Once we have demonstrated significant clinical outcomes, we will seek commercial partners for these products. We are also open to any companies looking to adopt our technology for the delivery of their own drugs.”

Dr Chris Nave, managing director of Brandon Capital, and Chairman of the Company said:

“It is a significant achievement in the current financial environment for an early stage company to have attracted this level of funding from new investors and it reflects the confidence the investors have in the quality of PolyActiva’s technology and the commercial potential of its products.”

PolyActiva’s proprietary drug-polymer conjugate technology enables sustained release, site-specific drug delivery from products with different physical forms, including rods, films, fibers and gels, substantially broadening its potential applications. The drug-polymer conjugates are able to carry high drug loads, which allow therapeutic quantities of drug to be delivered over extended periods of time from a very small implant. At the end of therapy, the polymer is designed to erode completely leaving no residue, which facilitates its chronic use and repeat administration and obviates the need for removal of the implant at the end of therapy. PolyActiva has proven the technology in validated animal models for delivery of drugs to the posterior region of the eye.

Polyactiva’s development portfolio includes both low risk products that deliver established drugs to a proven site of action, which abbreviates the product registration process, and also high value products that deliver novel drugs to treat clinically unmet needs.

This funding follows PolyActiva’s Series A round, which was completed in 2011.

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About PolyActiva Pty Ltd

PolyActiva is a pioneering biotechnology company developing drug-polymer conjugates that allow for site specific drug delivery from medical device components such as ocular implants, intra-articular gel implants, and drug-eluting fibers. The Company has developed a novel and scalable manufacturing process that can easily be adapted to existing device component production processes, providing greater flexibility over the composition of the final material. Using this process, PolyActiva has built drug-polymer conjugates from a number of drug candidates with different chemical structures and linkage points and has also developed a number of functional co-monomers and polymer segments. The Company has completed proof of concept studies on these and is working towards developing first products. PolyActiva is interested in hearing from medical technology companies interested in incorporating PolyActiva’s drug eluting components in their devices. PolyActiva was founded in 2011 as a joint venture between CSIRO and the Bionic Ear Institute and is located in Melbourne, Australia. For more information, please visit: www.polyactiva.com

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About Brandon Capital Partners

Brandon Capital Partners was established in 2007 and makes seed and venture capital investments into emerging businesses in the life science industry. Brandon Capital Partners is passionate about turning good science into improved medical outcomes. The Brandon team works with entrepreneurs to build businesses, creating value for the entrepreneurs, their teams and Brandon’s investors. The $50 million Brandon Biosciences Fund 1 (BBF1) is supported by the Australian Government’s IIF program, a venture capital initiative that supports innovation funds and fund managers with expertise in early-stage venture capital investing to commercialise the outcomes of Australia’s strong research capability.

www.brandoncapital.com.au

About Yuuwa Capital LP

Yuuwa Capital is a $40M early-stage venture capital firm based in Perth, Western Australia. Yuuwa invests in outstanding opportunities where Yuuwa can provide both capital and expertise to help founders, management and early investors build great companies. Yuuwa invests in early stage companies principally in the areas of Life Sciences and Information and Communications Technology. Yuuwa Capital’s formation in 2009 was supported by private investors who work with Candor Financial Management and also by the Australian Federal Government’s Innovation Investment Fund program.

www.yuuwa.com.au

About The Medical Research Commercialisation Fund (MRCF)

The $51 million Medical Research Commercialisation Fund (MRCF) Collaboration is an innovative investment collaboration established in 2007 and managed by Brandon Capital Partners (www.brandoncapital.com.au). The MRCF invests in early stage development and commercialisation opportunities emanating from its membership of 32 Australian medical research institutes and allied research hospitals. The MRCF IIF, LP fund is supported by AustralianSuper, StatewideSuper and the Australian Government under its IIF program. The MRCF also acknowledges the support of the State Governments of Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia and Queensland.

www.mrcf.com.au

About Brandon Biosciences Fund I

Brandon Biosciences Fund 1 will invest up to AUD$5 million into emerging life science companies with high-growth potential that are commercialising Australian innovations. Our AUD$50 million BBF1 comprises:

• The AUD$40 million BBF1 IIF Partnership, LP (BBF1 IIF), established in 2008 as a Venture Capital Limited Partnership (VCLP) under an Innovation Investment Fund (IIF) license (Round 3) from the Commonwealth of Australia. Our investors include AustralianSuper and StatewideSuper, two of Australia’s leading industry super funds as well as the Commonwealth of Australia.
• The AUD$10 million Brandon Bioscience Fund 1 Trust (BBF1 Trust). This companion trust fund can co-invest alongside the BBF1 IIF Partnership.