Tag Archives: healthcare

Gimv is founding investor of Kinaset Therapeutics in a USD 40m Series A round – funds used to develop novel therapeutics for respiratory diseases

GIMV

30/11/2020 – 08:00 | Portfolio

Gimv invests in Kinaset Therapeutics alongside 5AM Ventures and Atlas Venture in a USD 40m Series A round to support the clinical development of KN-002, a novel dry powder inhalable pan-JAK inhibitor, for the treatment of eosinophilic and non-eosinophilic severe asthma. 

Today, the Company also announced an exclusive global in-license and development agreement with Vectura Group plc (LSE: VEC) (“Vectura”) to develop and commercialize KN-002 (formerly known as VR588). A Phase 1/1b clinical trial in healthy volunteers and patients is poised to begin in the first half of 2021.

Kinaset Therapeutics intends to develop novel therapeutics that can positively impact people affected by intractable diseases, including severe asthma. Asthma is a complex and heterogeneous disease affecting over 300 million people worldwide, with approximately 10% of patients having severe asthma who suffer from frequent exacerbations, compromised lung function, and a reduced quality of life. The company is led by an experienced management team and board of directors with strong backgrounds in the development of respiratory therapeutics.

Bram Vanparys, Partner at Gimv, commented: “I am excited for Gimv to be part of Kinaset Therapeutics, and to support the company in bringing KN-002 to the clinic. Kinaset Therapeutics perfectly fits Gimv’s strategy of investing in drug development companies combining solid science, a strong data package and an experienced team.”

Thomas Harth, Senior Associate at Gimv, adds: “The best-in-class profile and tailormade dry-powder formulation captured our interest from the early start. Together with this very experienced and dedicated management team we are convinced KN-002 can make a real difference to severe asthma patients that have limited treatment options today.”

For further information, we refer to the company’s press release in attachment.

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Paragon invests in 7days Group

Paragon

Paragon Partners, one of the leading private equity firms in Europe, together with French co-investor Chequers Capital, has agreed to acquire a majority stake in 7days Group, a leading supplier of medical workwear. The management team, led by CEO Ulrich Dölken, will significantly re-invest as part of this transaction.

With the support of its new majority shareholders, Paragon and Chequers, 7days plans to further accelerate its growth trajectory in Germany and the rest of Europe in the coming years. 7days will benefit from continuing strong market trends such as the increasing professionalization of medical workwear and increased hygiene awareness in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, which promise future growth potential in a fragmented market.

Marco Attolini, Managing Partner at Paragon, says: “We have been deeply impressed by the attractive market dynamics and the outstanding positioning that 7days has achieved in recent years through its highest quality products and strong customer focus. We look forward to actively shaping the further development and growth of the 7days Group in partnership with management.“

Ulrich Dölken and Carsten Meyer, CEO and CFO of 7days Group: “With the support of our new partners, Paragon and Chequers, we want to continue to achieve the highest level of customer satisfaction with high-quality workwear for medical professionals. We are pleased to have two strong partners at our side, who will help us further expand our market position in the coming years.“

About 7days
7days was founded in 1999 in Lotte near Osnabrück. Today, the company is a leading supplier of modern and innovative workwear for medical professions. 7days designs, produces and distributes a wide range of high-quality workwear, from tunics to lab coats, for more than 300,000 customers in the healthcare sector in twelve countries, including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Scandinavia. 7days has a vertically integrated business model with diversified supply chains and distributes its products through a fully integrated multi-channel distribution platform, including both catalog marketing and e-commerce channels. This has enabled the company to achieve consistent growth in its German home market and internationally. Today, 7days employs 240 people and is expected to generate sales of over €40 million in 2020. Further details can be found on the company website: www.7days.de

About Paragon
Founded in 2004, Paragon is one of the leading independent private equity firms in Europe, with more than EUR 1.2 billion of equity under management. Paragon works closely with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth and operational excellence. The investment portfolio covers various industries and currently comprises 15 companies. The firm is based in Munich, Germany.

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IK completes CSR-linked financing for Kersia’s acquisition

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IK Investment Partners (“IK”) yesterday allocated the financing for the IK IX Fund to acquire a majority stake in Kersia. Kersia was created in 2016 and has become a global leader in biosecurity solutions for the food and beverage, farming and healthcare industries with a strong focus on sustainability. It also benefits from superior and differentiated innovation and R&D capabilities combined with leading operational and regulatory best-practices.

The acquisition of Kersia has been financed through a Corporate Social Responsibility (‘CSR’) – linked syndicated term loan B placed with institutional investors in the European leveraged loan markets.

The Company has an existing and far-reaching CSR strategy that centres around its ‘Act for Positive Impact’ program, embracing the need to establish a fully circular economy and in the long-term, to mitigate the negative impact companies can have on communities and the environment. The strategy is led by a dedicated CSR Operational Committee, supported by managers who are responsible for rolling the CSR program in each of the Group’s markets.

Kersia will adhere to three Key Performance Indicators (‘KPIs’) that will be tracked, monitored, and externally verified. Firstly, the Company will be required to implement systems to collect and recycle customers’ packaging. Secondly, Kersia will continue to increase its share of green products. Finally, it will maintain and expand its employee shareholding scheme.

The Company’s evaluation of these KPIs will be carried out by an independent auditor, which will determine the premium or discount on the margin of the debt and provide a financial incentive to achieve these goals.

Thierry Aoun, Capital Markets Director at IK said: “We are immensely proud to be one of the earliest adopters of this unique financing – the first of its kind for a company and for a financial sponsor in France – and we are excited to work with Kersia to deliver measurable outcomes across environmental and social considerations. By incorporating CSR-linked KPIs that are clear and binding, we are aligning Kersia’s ‘Act for Positive Impact’ program with IK’s ESG commitments for the benefit of all stakeholders.”

Dan Soudry, Managing Partner at IK and advisor to the IK IX Fund said: “Kersia’s business model revolves around biosecurity in crucial end-market, namely food, farm and healthcare, and for this reason CSR has been all-along at the heart of the Company’s strategy. As part of our ongoing partnership we will be supporting the management team’s continuing focus on these areas, and this innovative financing will play a key part in enabling Kersia’s sustainable growth.”

For further questions, please contact:

IK Investment Partners
Maitland/AMO
James McFarlane
Phone: +44 (0) 7584 142 665
jmcfarlane@maitland.co.uk

About IK Investment Partners

IK Investment Partners (“IK”) is a Pan-European private equity firm focused on investments in the Benelux, DACH, France, Nordics and the UK. Since 1989, IK has raised more than €13 billion of capital and invested in over 135 European companies. IK supports companies with strong underlying potential, partnering with management teams and investors to create robust, well-positioned businesses with excellent long-term prospects. For more information, visit www.ikinvest.com

About Kersia

Kersia is a global leader in biosecurity and food safety with value added products and solutions to prevent diseases or contamination in both animals and humans at every stage of the food supply chain. The company also offers solutions to the healthcare sector. Kersia operates in more than 120 countries with a workforce of over 1,500 people and a turnover of more than 300 million euros. For more information, visit www.kersia-group.com

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Ardian enters into exclusive negotiations to support the development of Inovie, the leading independent medical diagnostic provider in France

Ardian

24 November 2020 Buyout Paris, France

Paris, November 24th, 2020 – Inovie, the leading independent medical diagnostic provider in France, and Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, announce today that they have entered into exclusive negotiations for the acquisition of a minority stake by Ardian in Labosud, Inovie group’s lead company. The entry was approved by a very large majority of the group’s shareholding biologists (93% of votes in favor), and who will reinvest significant capital as part of the transaction, during a General Assembly dated November 19th, 2020. The transaction remains subject to the consultation processes of the relevant Labosud employee representative bodies in accordance with applicable law.

Founded in 2010, Inovie has undergone significant external growth to become the leading independent medical diagnostic provider in France and a key player across Southern and Central France specifically. With a strong local footprint of 19 multi-site laboratories spread over five key regions (Occitanie, Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur, Nouvelle Aquitaine Auvergne Rhône Alpes and Centre Val de Loire), Inovie’s biologists and 4,500 employees deliver high-standard clinical pathology testing to more than 46,000 patients daily. Inovie has also played a leading role in innovation, notably through their work in four areas of specialty: fertility (Inovie Fertilité), genomics (Imagenome), anatomopathology (Inopath) and veterinary services (Inovie Vet).

As part of the partnership with Ardian, Inovie will maintain independence and further develop its renowned model. The management team will remain in charge of business operations, and the biologists will retain a majority stake in Labosud’s as well as and voting rights, whilst continuing to be the cornerstone of Inovie’s operating excellence.

Ardian’s investment aims to make Inovie a leader in an increasingly competitive market, and one of the best-positioned companies to face current and future public health challenges. With Ardian as a shareholder, Inovie will be able to pursue an ambitious external growth and diversification strategy based on the development of its specialties, an acceleration of its digital strategy, and international expansion.

Georges Ruiz, President of Inovie, said: “To be able to keep up with future challenges in clinical pathology, notably in terms of development, diversification and innovation, we had to evolve our model and find new resources whilst staying close to our roots. We are very pleased to have built a project for the future with Ardian, which stays true to our core values relating to better supporting our patients in the course of their care by bringing together the best practitioners in clinical pathology. This is thanks to the dedication and competence of our teams in their daily work.“

Philippe Poletti, CEO of Ardian France, Member of the Executive Committee and Head of Ardian Buyout: “We are honored that Inovie’s biologists have placed their trust in Ardian and share our ambition for the development plan that we have built over the past 9 months with Georges Ruiz, the President of Inovie, and his teams.”

Nicolas Darnaud, Managing Director in Ardian Buyout team, complements: “In a few years’ time, Inovie was able to continuously provide their essential contribution to clinical pathology in France, notably through the delivery of their specialized centres, which are a major asset in an increasingly competitive market. With our partnership, we will begin a new chapter in the group’s development by leveraging its existing strengths and supporting its principles and core values, as well as contributing new resources. We believe that by doing this, we will fully equip Inovie to face the challenges in clinical pathology for the years to come.”

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

  • Ardian

    • Nicolas Darnaud, Edouard Level, Edmond Delamalle, Pierre Casas
    • Buyer M&A advisors: Rothschild & Co. (Laurent Baril, Robert Rozemulder, Youssef Bouallou, Pierre-Yves Lebot), Edmond de Rothschild Corporate Finance (Pierre Boscher, Arnaud Petit, Aurélien Bouvier, Victor Auguin-Rougier)
    • Buyer legal advisors : Latham & Watkins (Gaëtan Giannasso, Michael Colle (corporate), Xavier Farde, Carla-Sophie Imperadeiro (financing), Xavier Renard, Thomas Claudel (structuring))
    • Buyer strategic DD: Bain & Company (Jérôme Brunet, Agnès Houdaille, Ghofrane Maaroufi)
    • Buyer financial DD: EY (Hervé Jauffret, Elsa Abou Mrad, Vincent Magaud)
    • Buyer operational DD: EY (Olivier Sibenaler, Olivier Nicolle, Paul-Louis Royer)
    • Buyer legal, tax, labor DD: EY (Virginie Lefebvre-Dutilleul, Christine Salès (legal), Lionel Benant, Nevenna Teodorova (tax), Sophie Muyard, Taïna Celestin (labor))
    • Buyer ESG DD: Indefi (Emmanuel Parmentier, Charlotte Salmon)
    • Buyer insurance DD: Siaci Saint Honoré (Pierre de Rochebouët, Anne Rougerie)

  • Inovie

    • Inovie’s Executive Committee: Georges Ruiz, Sébastien Floret, Dominique Forte, Thomas Hottier, Xavier Huc, Benoît Ponseillé
    • Vendor M&A advisor: BNP Paribas (Marc Walbaum, Alexandre Greco, Xavier Caron, Hui Zhao)
    • Vendor legal advisor: Weil Gotshal & Manges (Jean Beauchataud, Romain Letard, Michaël Koubi)
    • Vendor financial DD: PwC (Philip Dykstra, Frédéric Spielrein, Pierre-Mikhaël Voyer)
    • Vendor legal DD: Weil, Gotshal & Manges (Jean Beauchataud, Romain Letard, Michaël Koubi)
    • Vendor tax, labor DD: PwC (Jean-Philippe Brillet, Mathieu Echallier, Jihanne Flegeau-Kihal (fiscal), Bernard Borrely, Pauline d’Humières (social))
    • Management financial advisor: Callisto Finance (Vincent Aymé, Tancrède Caulliez)

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house with assets of US$100bn managed or advised in Europe, the Americas and Asia. The company is majority-owned by its employees. It keeps entrepreneurship at its heart and focuses on delivering excellent investment performance to its global investor base.
Through its commitment to shared outcomes for all stakeholders, Ardian’s activities fuel individual, corporate and economic growth around the world.
Holding close its core values of excellence, loyalty and entrepreneurship, Ardian maintains a truly global network, with more than 700 employees working from fifteen offices across Europe (Frankfurt, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Zurich), the Americas (New York, San Francisco and Santiago) and Asia (Beijing, Singapore, Tokyo and Seoul). It manages funds on behalf of around 1,000 clients through five pillars of investment expertise: Fund of Funds, Direct Funds, Infrastructure, Real Estate and Private Debt. Follow Ardian on Twitter @Ardian

Press contacts

ARDIAN – Headland

Gregor Riemann

griemann@headlandconsultancy.com +44 (0)7920 802 627

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AlgoTherapeutix raises €12M to take ATX01 into clinical development in chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy

Omnes Capital

France-based biotechnology company AlgoTherapeutix, the developer of an innovative topical treatment for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), has raised €12M in a Series A round led by Bpifrance through its InnoBio 2 fund with co-investor Omnes. Existing and new business angel investors, also significantly participated in this financing round. The proceeds will be used to fund the clinical development of its lead candidate ATX01 up to clinical proof of concept.

Over the last two years, AlgoTherapeutix took ATX01 from exploratory prototype to final formulation, established its pharmacological profile, conducted a full pre-clinical toxicology package, and scaled-up manufacturing to enable clinical supply production. In parallel, AlgoTx firmed-up ATX01’s development pathway via a pre-IND consultation with the FDA and obtained an Orphan Drug Designation from the FDA to explore ATX01’s activity in erythromelalgia. ATX01 is due to enter Phase I clinical trials in early 2021.

Inspired by clinical experience at a specialized pain treatment center, AlgoTherapeutix’s ATX01 targets topical treatment of CIPN by repositioning amitriptyline into a suitable topical formulation. The body of data from ATX01’s pre-clinical development now provides the pharmacological explanation for encouraging exploratory clinical observations with a precursor formulation published in early 2019.

Over half of cancer patients treated with chemotherapy develop CIPN and experience sensory symptoms and pain in the hands and feet:  loss of sensitivity, tingling, burning, cold and intense pain can persist for months to years after treatment. CIPN can prevent patients from walking or using their hands, thus deeply affecting their quality of life.

CIPN is found in over two million patients in the US and Europe, a leading cause for modification or interruption of chemotherapy. To this date, no therapeutic approach has offered a satisfactory response for patients and their caregivers, oncologists and pain specialists.

Stéphane Thiroloix, Founder & CEO of AlgoTherapeutix, says: “I am thrilled that such high-profile partners as Bpifrance and Omnes decided to support ATX01’s development journey towards a genuine relief for countless patients around the world.”

Thibaut Roulon, Investment Director at Bpifrance commented: “CIPN is a considerable unmet medical need. We are enthusiastic about AlgoTherapeutix’s innovative and pragmatic approach, which could significantly improve the quality of life for many cancer patients”.

“The AlgoTherapeutix team displayed scientific and operational strength in the early development of ATX01 and we are confident in their ability to establish the product’s clinical efficacy and safety going forward”, stated Claire Poulard, Principal at Omnes Capital.

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Precision Medicine Group Secures Major Investment from Blackstone

Blackstone

NEW YORK & BETHESDA, Md., November 20, 2020 — Precision Medicine Group (PMG) and Blackstone (NYSE: BX) today announced that PMG, a leading next-generation provider of drug development and commercialization services, has completed a major investment and recapitalization led by funds managed by Blackstone (“Blackstone”). The investment includes significant participation from Precision’s co-founders, Ethan Leder and Mark Clein, as well as current shareholders Berkshire Partners, TPG Growth, Oak HC/FT, and Vida Ventures.

Bethesda, Maryland-based PMG is a leading provider of mission-critical services to help biopharmaceutical companies conduct clinical trials and bring novel therapies to market by integrating deep therapeutic knowledge, data and analytics, and human expertise. With precision medicine as its foundation, PMG’s specialized capabilities enable the development and delivery of more targeted treatments for patients, addressing the next wave of innovation in global health advancement, expanded access, and outcomes improvement.

This new round of investment will fuel the expansion of PMG’s global footprint and technical capabilities to help accelerate the development, approval, and commercial reach of breakthrough treatments from life science innovators. Blackstone’s deep understanding of the drug development process and extensive operating resources will help deliver significant value to the partnership.

Mark Clein, PMG CEO, said: “We are thrilled to have Blackstone join us for this next phase of growth. Their serious commitment to the life sciences and global scope and scale make them an ideal partner to support our vision of success and expanded capabilities for the next generation of bio-pharma innovators.”

Julia Kahr, a Senior Managing Director at Blackstone, said: “PMG has built a compelling set of services that address the most important challenges facing biopharmaceutical and diagnostic companies. We are eager to back Mark and Ethan and the highly talented employees around the world to support their deep and ongoing commitment to PMG’s clients and look forward to pursuing the immense opportunity ahead by leveraging new technologies, expertise, and scale. We are also delighted to be joining Berkshire, TPG Growth, Oak HC/FT, and Vida to help accelerate this success.”

Anushka Sunder, Managing Director at Blackstone, added: “We have high conviction in the unprecedented wave of innovation PMG’s clients are driving in personalized medicines and novel drug mechanisms, especially in oncology and rare disease. PMG integrates deep science, extensive biomarker and genetic data, evidence of economic value, and market access insights to improve the speed, cost, and success rates of bringing life-changing therapies to patients. We are excited to support the continued expansion of PMG’s platform and broad therapeutic reach.”

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as lead financial advisor to PMG. Jefferies LLC and Perella Weinberg Partners also acted as financial advisors to PMG and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP acted as legal advisor to PMG. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, BofA Securities, and Barclays acted as financial advisors and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP acted as legal advisor to Blackstone. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About Precision Medicine Group:
Formed in 2012, Precision Medicine Group is a specialized services company supporting next generation approaches to drug development and commercialization. Precision provides an integrated infrastructure that supports pharmaceutical and life sciences companies as they develop new products in the age of precision medicine. The company is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland with offices throughout North America and Europe. For more information, visit precisionmedicinegrp.com.

About Blackstone
Blackstone is one of the world’s leading investment firms. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Our $584 billion in assets under management include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, life sciences, growth equity, opportunistic, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow Blackstone on Twitter @Blackstone.

Media Contacts

For Precision Medicine Group:
Louis Landon
310-984-7707
louis.landon@precisionformedicine.com

For Blackstone:
Matt Anderson
+1-212-390-2472
matthew.anderson@blackstone.com

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Blackstone Completes $14.6 Billion Recapitalization of BioMed Realty

Blackstone

New York, November 20, 2020 – Blackstone (NYSE: BX) today announced that Blackstone Real Estate Partners VIII L.P. and co-investors have completed their previously announced transaction to sell BioMed Realty for $14.6 billion to a group led by existing BioMed investors. This transaction is part of a new long-term, perpetual capital, core+ return strategy managed by Blackstone.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC served as financial advisor to BREP VIII and completed a “go-shop” process on behalf of BioMed’s selling investors.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Wells Fargo Securities LLC also served as financial advisors to BREP VIII, and Eastdil Secured served as financial advisor to the purchasers. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as legal advisor to Blackstone.

The transaction was announced on October 15, 2020.

About Blackstone Real Estate
Blackstone is a global leader in real estate investing. Blackstone’s real estate business was founded in 1991 and has $174 billion of investor capital under management. Blackstone is one of the largest property owners in the world, owning and operating assets across every major geography and sector, including logistics, multifamily and single-family housing, office, hospitality and retail. Our opportunistic funds seek to acquire undermanaged, well-located assets across the world. Blackstone’s Core+ strategy invests in substantially stabilized real estate globally through regional open-ended funds focused on high-quality assets and Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. (BREIT), a non-listed REIT that invests in U.S. income-generating assets. Blackstone Real Estate also operates one of the leading global real estate debt businesses, providing comprehensive financing solutions across the capital structure and risk spectrum, including management of Blackstone Mortgage Trust (NYSE: BXMT).

About BioMed Realty
BioMed Realty, a Blackstone portfolio company, is the largest private provider of real estate solutions to the life science and technology industries. BioMed owns and operates high quality life science real estate comprising 11.3 million square feet concentrated in the leading innovation markets throughout the United States and United Kingdom, including Boston/Cambridge, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle and Cambridge U.K. In addition, BioMed maintains a premier development platform with 2.3 million square feet of Class A properties in active construction to meet the growing demand of the life science industry.

Contact
Ilana Mouritzen
Ilana.Mouritzen@Blackstone.com
Tel: (212) 583-5776

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MercachemSyncom changes name to Symeres

GIlde Healthcare

MercachemSyncom changes name to Symeres

Nijmegen (The Netherlands) – MercachemSyncom today announced that it will change its name and operate under the registered trade name of Symeres.

The new name reflects the strategic evolution of the company, with the growth of integrated drug discovery and development services, which complement the company’s strong reputation in synthetic discovery and development chemistry. Recent examples of this evolution include the acquisition of ADME-Tox provider Admescope in November 2020 and strategic alliances integrating our services with high-quality CROs in the fields of in vitro biology, biophysics, and structural biology.

The name Symeres (derived from Sy-ncom Me-rcachem res-research) and accompanying tagline “making molecules matter” are derived from the experience and success of the Syncom and Mercachem legacy organizations and their core strengths in innovative research.

Dr. Eelco Ebbers, CEO of Symeres, added,

“The evolution of MercachemSyncom into Symeres is representative of the continuing expansion of the organization and our move into integrated solutions for drug discovery and development services, alongside our strong chemistry-centric services. The most recent example being our acquisition of Admescope. We look forward to continuing our journey with our clients around the world under our new identity, without forgetting the core values of quality, integrity, transparency, and innovation that got us to where we are today.”

For further information, please contact:
Dr. Russell Thomas
Head of Business Development
Symeres
Email: russell.thomas@symeres.com

 

About Symeres
Symeres, formerly MercachemSyncom, is the leading mid-sized European contract research organization offering innovative chemistry, medicinal chemistry, ADME, early process research services, and GMP production to accelerate the drug discovery and development process in a flexible and cost-effective way. Symeres also offers integrated drug-discovery services from hit to clinic via multiple-platform strategic alliances under a single MSA. Working for many pharmaceutical and biotech companies throughout the world, Symeres is recognized for its high-quality products and services and its unprecedented problem-solving capabilities.
For more information, please visit: www.symeres.com.

About Gilde Healthcare
Gilde Healthcare is a specialized healthcare investor managing over €1.4 billion ($1.5 billion) across two fund strategies: venture & growth capital and private equity. Gilde Healthcare’s venture & growth capital fund invests in fast growing companies active in digital health, medtech and therapeutics. The venture & growth companies are based in Europe and North America. Gilde Healthcare’s private equity fund invests in profitable European lower mid-market healthcare companies with a focus on the Benelux and DACH region. The private equity fund targets healthcare providers, suppliers of medical products and service providers in the healthcare market. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.gildehealthcare.com.

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Ampersand Announced Today the $670 Million Closing of the Ampersand Continuation Fund (“AMP-CF”) with Confluent Medical Technologies as Core Asset

WELLESLEY, Mass., Nov. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Ampersand Capital Partners, a leading private equity firm dedicated to growth-oriented investments in the healthcare sector, announced today the oversubscribed, $670 million closing of the Ampersand Continuation Fund together with related investment vehicles (“AMP-CF”). AMP-CF was formed to acquire the equity interests of three portfolio companies previously held by multiple mature Ampersand funds. StepStone Group and affiliated investors (“StepStone”), a leading player in the private equity secondary market, is the lead investor in the transaction.

AMP-CF provided all Ampersand limited partners the option of reinvesting their proceeds or receiving full or partial liquidity, and also admitted new limited partners who wished to invest in the growth prospects of the three portfolio companies. In addition to StepStone, AMP-CF received commitments from a broad group of secondary and primary investors, including many prior Ampersand limited partners that elected to reinvest.

Notably, the closing of the fund was completed less than 45 days after StepStone’s commitment and exceeded the $600 million target necessary to acquire the AMP-CF assets, providing additional capital to support Confluent’s continued growth.

Ampersand Partner Trevor Wahlbrink commented, “We are very pleased that AMP-CF was so well received in the marketplace. The strong response from current and new limited partners confirms our belief that creating AMP-CF was a win-win opportunity for all of Ampersand’s key constituents. All of the AMP-CF portfolio companies are high-quality assets that we know exceptionally well, and the Ampersand team remains excited about their long-term growth prospects.”

Ampersand Founder and Confluent Chairman Rick Charpie noted, “With an initial five-year term, and access to capital for additional acquisitions and secondary purchases, AMP-CF positions Confluent’s management and investors to continue taking a long-term view of the Company’s future growth opportunities. As the majority investor in Confluent, we look forward to working with the Company’s exceptional management team to build on Confluent’s position as a leading designer and manufacturer of complex, finished medical devices to the world’s largest OEM’s.”

Goodwin Procter LLP served as legal counsel to Ampersand. Debevoise & Plimpton LLP served as legal counsel to StepStone.

About Ampersand Capital Partners

Founded in 1988, Ampersand is a middle market private equity firm with more than $2 billion of assets under management dedicated to growth-oriented investments in the healthcare sector. With offices in Boston and Amsterdam, Ampersand leverages its unique blend of private equity and operating experience to build value and drive superior long-term performance alongside its portfolio company management teams. Ampersand has helped build numerous market-leading companies across each of the firm’s core healthcare sectors. Additional information about Ampersand is available at ampersandcapital.com.

About StepStone Group

StepStone is a global private markets investment firm focused on providing customized investment solutions and advisory and data services to its clients. As of September 30, 2020, StepStone oversaw $313 billion of private markets allocations, including $72 billion of assets under management. StepStone’s clients include some of the world’s largest public and private defined benefit and defined contribution pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and insurance companies, as well as prominent endowments, foundations, family offices and private wealth clients, which include high-net-worth and mass affluent individuals. StepStone partners with its clients to develop and build private markets portfolios designed to meet their specific objectives across the private equity, infrastructure, private debt and real estate asset classes. Additional information about StepStone is available at stepstonegroup.com.

About Confluent Medical Technologies

Confluent is a leader in precision contract manufacturing of specialized medical devices. Its portfolio of services includes complex catheters, stent delivery systems, Nitinol components, biomedical textiles, balloon expandable stents, balloon catheters, and guidewires. With facilities in Fremont and Laguna Niguel, California; Warwick, Rhode Island; Windham, Maine; Austin, Texas; and San Jose, Costa Rica, Confluent has a proven track record of partnering with the medical device community to deliver world-class medical devices through innovative materials science, engineering, and manufacturing. Additional information about Confluent is available at confluentmedical.com.

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Closed Loop Medicine recruits first patient into novel PhIV precision medicine interventional clinical trial for patients with high blood pressure

IQ Capital

London, UK, 18 November 2020: Closed Loop Medicine (‘CLM’) a clinical stage therapeutics company developing drug + digital combination products, announces that the first patient has been recruited into its pivotal clinical trial investigating CLM’s integrated precision care solution for patients with hypertension.

The clinical trial, called Personal COVID BP, will see up to 1,000 patients recruited for a study investigating whether a combination product that links a drug to a smart phone app can enable patients to personalise and optimise their therapy regimen to treat hypertension. Importantly, the technology in the study allows patients shielding from COVID-19 to control their blood pressure remotely in a home setting environment.

The interventional arm of the study, in which up to 200 patients are involved, will see patients receive drug therapy while using an app to monitor blood pressure, as well as any potential side effects. This will help to determine whether the approach can be used to identify the optimum balance of tolerable side effects and controlled blood pressure. The ultimate aim of the study is the development of a novel combination product that will have the potential to save thousands of lives through fewer heart attacks and strokes.

As part of the study, CLM’s technology will also be used to monitor COVID-19 symptoms to allow for a better understanding of the links between COVID-19 and high blood pressure. A Nature publication1 published in May 2020 analysed 17 million medical records to show a complex link between COVID-19 mortality and patients with high blood pressure.

The trial is part-funded by Innovate UK and is being run by the William Harvey Clinical Research Centre (WHCRC), Queen Mary University of London, part of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at Barts (BRC).

Dr Hakim Yadi OBE, CEO & Co-Founder of CLM commented: “This represents a key milestone for the company, the first patient enrolled and dosed in our interventional clinical study. Our aim is to improve patient outcomes while supporting health systems to better manage patients with long-term conditions through remote monitoring and timely intervention. The trial design allows greater patient participation from the comfort and safety of their own home whilst also investigating the potential link between COVID-19 and hypertension. We look forward to progressing this important trial alongside our partners at Queen Mary University, and to reporting further progress over the coming months.”

Dr David Collier, the lead trial investigator from Queen Mary University of London commented: “This is an important study in that it allows patients and physicians to collect real-world data to help better inform treatment decisions and monitor patient outcomes. Some of the drugs we use are great at preventing heart attacks and strokes, but frequently cause unwanted side-effects, something this trial sets out to address. We hope that through this study we can not only demonstrate that one size does not fit all, but that by using technology in this combined way, we can personalise treatment for the individual at a population scale.”

-ENDS-

For more information please contact:

Closed Loop Medicine

Dr Hakim Yadi OBE, Chief Executive Officer info@closedloopmedicine.com

About Closed Loop Medicine

Closed Loop Medicine is a clinical stage therapeutics company developing drug + digital combination products, transforming drug effectiveness through optimisation by providing every drug its real time digital companion. The company was founded by an experienced team of healthcare professionals, entrepreneurs and life scientists with experience of drug and software development as well as extensive health system innovation experience. Closed Loop Medicine is developing a new product class, a combinational therapy that binds drug therapy with digital therapy to optimise care regimens for patients. Data readout for its Personal COVID BP clinical trial is expected to take place in 2021. Whilst the company is currently focused on individual solutions in hypertension and sleep it aims to further develop its pipeline through the creation of additional single-prescription combination products that cater to the needs of patients suffering from chronic disease ensuring that the patient and clinician are put at the centre of its products and solutions.

For more information, please visit www.closedloopmedicine.com

1 Williamson, E.J., Walker, A.J., Bhaskaran, K. et al. Factors associated with COVID-19-related death using OpenSAFELY. Nature 584, 430–436 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2521-4

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