Pharmabcine raises funds to develop therapeutic antibodies in the area of cancer and inflammation

PharmAbcine, a specialized biotech company focused on the development of fully-human monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases, announced that is has received $6 million USD in a Series A financing. OrbiMed's Caduceus Asia Partners and Novartis Korea Venture Fund co-led the round, with additional participation from an international syndicate including Green Cross, Tong Yang and Saehan Venture Fund.

The financing will be primarily used to continue developing a pipeline of fully human therapeutic antibodies in the area of cancer and inflammation. In 2008, PharmAbcine was selected as the winner of business plan competition under 'GATE (Get Armed To Explore Global Market)' project. GATE was a collaborative initiative among the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT), McKinsey & Co., the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), and Novartis.

"We are very excited to make the first investment by OrbiMed in a Korean company and believe that PharmAbcine is uniquely positioned with talented scientists, excellent science and meaningful product opportunities," said Dr. Nancy Chang, Chairman and Senior Managing Director of OrbiMed's Caduceus Asia Partners. "The company's Series A financing is a first where a Korean start-up was able to attract an international syndicate of quality investors. We believe that this experienced syndicate can work well and we look forward to working closely with Novartis, Green Cross, Tong Yang, and Saehan Venture Fund to build PharmAbcine into a first rate biotech company in Korea."

"Novartis Korea Venture Fund puts priority on investing in the best life science start-ups in Korea - our mission is to support Korea as it builds a world class biotech industry," said Dr. Anja Koenig, Managing Director, Novartis Venture Fund. "I believe that the PharmAbcine deal is a significant milestone in Korean biotech industry. We look forward to working with the company as it looks to build a pipeline of antibodies in the area of inflammation and oncology."

"This $6 million financing, with such a high-quality group of international investors, is a major achievement for PharmAbcine," said, Dr. Jin-San Yoo, CEO and founder of PharmAbcine. "We believe this investment speaks to the potential of our technology and will continue to lead the way, seeking to build a top quality biotech company in Korea."

"We are very pleased to be part of the Series A investment to PharmAbcine," said Dr. B.G. Rhee, Executive Vice President of Green Cross. "PharmAbcine has a strong technology platform and Green Cross will fully collaborate to develop a world-class monoclonal antibody product."

"Tong Yang VC is very delighted to invest in PharmAbcine and to collaborate with the internationally distinguished biotech investors," said Dr. Min-Chol Shin of Tong Yang. "This round of financing would act as a significant step forward to foster its pipeline of therapeutic antibodies. And I believe that PharmAbcine will prove the unique competitiveness of its next generation platform technology as well."

As part of this financing, PharmAbcine has made several new board appointments, including Dr. Jin-San Yoo, Dr. Nancy Chang, Dr. Jonathan Wang, Dr. Eun Chul Huh, and Dr. Paul Kim.