Aquinox Sets Sail With $14.5M Series A For Blood Cancer Drug
June 13, 2007 - Canadian drug developer Aquinox Pharmaceuticals Inc. said that it has raised $14.5 million in Series A financing to get its lead blood cancer drug into the clinic.
New investor Ventures West Capital led the round, joined by new investors Johnson & Johnson Development Corp. and Baker Brothers Investments and existing investor BC Advantage Funds, managed by Lions Capital Corp. David J. Main, president and chief executive of Aquinox, declined to give the company's valuation.
Based in Vancouver, Aquinox was incorporated in 2004 with technology from the University of British Columbia and the BC Cancer Agency. The company is developing drugs to target the biochemical enzyme SH2-containing inositol phosphatase, or SHIP, which regulates the PI3 kinase pathway.
Main said that SHIP is limited to blood cells, which allows Aquinox to target diseases of the blood. "It's an enzyme that is only expressed in blood cells, and the function of that enzyme is regulating cell growth and proliferation," he said.
The lead compound, AQX-MN100, is being designed for multiple myeloma, chronic myeloid leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia. Main said that the drug is 12 to 18 months away from entering the clinic and that the money should last the company through the end of Phase I, in two to three year's time.
Additional drugs in preclinical development will target anti-inflammatory conditions.
Chris Laird, vice president at Ventures West, said that Aquinox has been capable of designing drugs in a challenging market space. "Kinases have proven to be a very difficult target to go after," he said. "But this team has shown the ability to find compounds in this area."
Ventures West made the investment out of its C$250 million vintage 2004 eight fund. Laird said that the firm would likely raise a ninth fund in 2008.
As a result of the financing, Chris Laird, vice president at Venture West, and Asish Xavier, principal at Johnson & Johnson Development, will join Aquinox' board.
Aquinox previously raised $1 million in seed financing last year from BC Advantage.
Aquinox has two full-time employees and six under contract.
Source: Dow Jones Venture Wire (subscription required)