San Diego--(BW HealthWire)--April 3, 2002-- TargeGen, Inc., a biotechnology company focusing on vascular biology, has announced that it has closed a $10 million Series "A" Financing.

This first round of financing was led by Forward Ventures with significant participation by Enterprise Partners and other investors. TargeGen plans to develop therapeutics for cancer, cardiovascular, ocular and inflammatory diseases using innovative technology that seeks to regulate elements of the body's processes for new blood vessel formation.

In conjunction with its formation, TargeGen has secured certain patent rights from the German pharmaceutical company Merck KGaA. Merck's contribution to TargeGen includes a portfolio of vascular biology-related intellectual property and compounds that may have utility for therapeutic applications.

TargeGen's technology is based, in part, on the work of David A. Cheresh, Ph.D., a principal scientific founder of the company. Dr. Cheresh, currently a professor of immunology and vascular biology at The Scripps Research Institute, is widely recognized as an expert in the field of vascular biology.

The proprietary platform employed by TargeGen seeks to deliver selectively active therapeutic agents to receptors associated with new blood vessel development. Early data suggests that the company's technology may have future potential to treat a broad range of diseases including heart attack, cancer and stroke. In preliminary testing, TargeGen's product candidates have suppressed the growth and development of established tumors. In cardiovascular disease research, the company's drug candidate to inhibit vascular permeability has demonstrated the ability to significantly reduce edema associated with stroke and infarct size associated with myocardial infarct.

"Based on the exciting preliminary testing results from TargeGen, we are eager to support the company in advancing these potential life-saving products in human clinical trials," said Ivor Royston, M.D., an oncologist and a managing member of Forward Ventures, who will serve as the chairman of the board for TargeGen. "Our decision to back TargeGen expresses our enthusiasm for the underlying science and the breadth and potential of the platform," stated Andrew Senyei, M.D., a managing partner at Enterprise Partners Venture Capital who will also join the TargeGen board.

Peter G. Ulrich, a co-founder of TargeGen, has been appointed to serve as the company's president and CEO. Ulrich's more than 26 years experience in the healthcare and biotechnology industries includes senior management positions with Baxter Healthcare, NeuroVir Therapeutics, La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co., MedClone, Inc., LipoGen and BIOTX. Prior to founding TargeGen, Ulrich served as founder and managing general partner of Avia Technology Partners LLC, a private investment firm serving biomedical startup companies and venture funds.

"TargeGen's early priorities will be to expedite the completion of proof-of-concept studies and them aggressively move into pre-clinical testing, followed by human Phase I and Phase II clinical trials," said Ulrich. "We are planning to submit both our first IND for a cancer indication and a second IND for a cardiovascular indication within our first two operating years, aggressive but we think achievable goals."