Caxton Advantage Life Sciences Fund and Sanderling Venture Partners Lead $8 Million in Series E Funding Round for Gemin X Pharmaceuticals

Based in Malvern, Pennsylvania, Gemin X Pharmaceuticals has announced on August 4, 2010, that it has closed an $8 million in series E funding round led by Caxton Advantage Life Sciences Fund and Sanderling Venture Partners. Other investors who participated in this funding round include the company’s existing stock holders.

Gemin X is a pharmaceutical company that develops targeted cancer therapeutics. The company’s headquarters are located in Malvern, Pennsylvania, but the majority of Gemin X’s research and clinical trials are done in Montréal, Canada. In march of this year, Gemin X has completed the enrollment of phase 2b in clinical trials of its drug, obatoclax. Obatoclax is a Bcl-2 inhibitor which has amazing potential in the treatment of cancer.

According to the chairman and CEO of Gemin X Pharmaceuticals, Peter R. Dolan, the team is very happy that there is such a large group of investors who are supporting the efforts of Gemin X to discover the potential of obatoclax, which shows great potential in clinical trials as the company’s research team continues to explore the potential of this Bcl-2 inhibitor. Mr. Dolan further added that this series E funding round comes on the heals of growing evidence that the clinical data shows the positive effects of obatoclax in the initial phase 2b trials which shows that this drug can be a prime candidate for the treatment of small cell lung cancer. The team at Gemin X further looks forward to submitting the clinical data shown in these studies in the upcoming medical conference. Furthermore, the success of obatoclax in treating small cell lung cancer can also have the potential of treating a wide array of other similar cancers that affect many Americans.

The founder and managing partner at Sanderling Venture Partners and Gemin X board member, Dr. Robert G. McNiel, Ph.D., further added as one of the company’s earliest investors, he is quite happy with the results coming from the clinical trials of the obatoclax drug that Gemin X is developing. Dr. McNiel further added that once all the executives receive the survival data from phase 2b clinical trials, this can provide the base for the strategic goals for the company in the future.

According to the cofounder and managing director of Caxton Advantage Life Sciences Fund, Eric Roberts, who is also a board member; since Caxton’s initial investment in the company, Gemin X has shown that its developments has created an impressive portfolio of powerful cancer treatments, especially with obatoclax and the treatment of small cell lung cancer. Furthermore, small cell lung cancer is a disease that plagues many Americans and as of yet there has been no change in the ability for physicians to find an effective treatment for this usually deadly cancer. Obatoclax shows great promise in finding a drug that can finally effectively treat small cell lung cancer and increase the survival in patients afflicted with this type of cancer.

The Caxton Life Sciences Fund is a leading investment fund that primarily invests in late stage pharmaceutical and drug development companies which show the potential to disrupt the pharmaceutical industry by meeting the unmet needs of physicians for the treatment of diseases and disorders that are nearly impossible to treat effectively. Founded in 2006, the fund was created by affiliates of Caxton Associates, which is an investment firm that is based in New York. Other companies in Caxton’s portfolio include Anthera Pharmaceuticals, Conthera (acquired by Novartis), Gentium, Regento Biosciences, and others.

Sanderling Venture Partners , currently known as Sanderling Ventures, was founded in 1979 and is one of the oldest venture capital firms to fund biomedical companies. Sanderling primarily invests in early and seed stage companies and is also an active investor in the companies in which they invest. Investors and principals at Sanderling play an active role in their portfolio companies by requiring a seat in their portfolio companies board of directors. Some other companies in Sanderling’s portfolio include Altor Biosciences, Artielle, Calci Medica, Dynatherm, Joyant, Naviscan, and others.