-- Arthurian Life Sciences investment helps bring to market world's first three-day simple insulin infusion device for type 2 diabetes --
LUCERNE, Switzerland, Sept. 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- CeQur SA, a leader in simple insulin infusion for people with diabetes, announced that the Company plans to conduct clinical studies and has established a subsidiary in Wales following a major investment co-led by Arthurian Life Sciences.
"CeQur aligns with our vision to invest in companies that contribute to a successful, vibrant, growing, and socially meaningful Life Sciences sector in Wales. We were delighted to again work closely with Neil Woodford to make a significant investment into a company that will become a very important part of the Welsh life sciences ecosystem. This is the third transaction of over $100 million we have led or co-led in the last three months from the Welsh Life Sciences Fund," said Professor Chris Evans OBE, chairman, Arthurian Life Sciences.
CeQur recently announced a $100 million C round of financing to support further clinical and regulatory activities, manufacturing scale-up and commercial operations for a planned European and US 2016 launch of the Company's novel, three-day insulin infusion device, PaQ®.
PaQ is a simple patch-like insulin infusion device that has the potential to offer an alternative to insulin injections for people with type 2 diabetes, a worldwide market estimated to be worth approximately $6 billion.[1]
Wales-based Arthurian Life Sciences Ltd. (ALS) co-led the round with Woodford Investment Management LLP. Brenig Preest, investment manager of Arthurian Life Sciences, will serve as a member of the CeQur Board of Directors. Existing investors including Endeavour Vision, Schroder & Co. Banque SA and VI Partners participated in the round.
CeQur's CEO, Doug Lawrence, said: "We are very excited to be working with Arthurian Life Sciences and Woodford Investment Management, who clearly saw the potential of PaQ and are as enthusiastic as we are about the commercial opportunity."
CeQur is preparing to launch its fully optimized, second-generation PaQ and has established a UK subsidiary in Wales. One of the Company's first activities in Wales will be a clinical study in collaboration with University of Swansea scheduled to begin enrollment in 2016.
"Knowing first-hand the challenges people with type 2 diabetes face in managing daily insulin injections, we are excited to be part of the ongoing clinical program evaluating insulin delivery with PaQ," said Professor Steve Bain, professor of medicine, University of Swansea, who will serve as principal investigator for the Swansea trial site. "If insulin delivery is less burdensome, glycaemic control should improve and subsequently so should long-term health."
PaQ is a simple and cost-effective device that helps people with type 2 diabetes overcome the known barriers to insulin therapy. "We are delighted that our patients who face the challenges of diabetes will be the first in Wales to try this new and exciting device, which should make their lives easier," said Hamish Laing, medical director of the ABM University Health Board.
About CeQur®
CeQur is dedicated to developing and commercializing advanced yet simple-to-use insulin delivery devices that make it easier for people living with type 2 diabetes to adhere to therapy and stay in control of their disease. The Company is headquartered in Lucerne, Switzerland, with operations in Marlborough, Massachusetts and Nordborg, Denmark.
CeQur was established in January 2008. The company is chaired by 34-year J&J veteran Eric Milledge and led by a team of highly experienced executives with backgrounds from relevant companies including Becton Dickinson & Company, J&J, Novo Nordisk, Abbott, Roche, and Smith & Nephew. The Company's fully optimized device, PaQ, is a three-day, wearable device that provides freedom from multiple daily insulin injections. More information can be found at www.cequr.com.
About Woodford Investment Management
Woodford Investment Management LLP is a fast-growing asset management company built on a founding philosophy of transparency and simplicity. Launched in May 2014, the company has more than £12bn assets under management. Further information can be found at https://woodfordfunds.com
About Arthurian Life Sciences
Founded by renowned life sciences entrepreneur Professor Sir Chris Evans, Arthurian has an investment team with more than 200 years combined experience, having raised over USD 11 billion of investment funds and USD 9.4 billion of co-investment. Arthurian is a specialist in the life sciences sector. It is discretionary fund manager of the Wales Life Sciences Investment Fund LP (the "Fund"). The Fund is a strategic investment fund whose cornerstone investor is the Welsh Government. It invests globally across the life sciences sector where those investments bring economic benefit to the life sciences sector in Wales.
About Endeavour Vision Ltd.
Endeavour is an internationally recognized investor in innovative technologies, in particular in medical technologies, with more than 60 investments made globally. The team combines successful investment professionals and world-class industry veterans with extensive experience in the medical device industry in the US, Europe and Asia. Endeavour Vision focuses on companies with global ambitions in medical technology and digital health sectors in Europe and the US, helping them to accelerate their global growth and market leadership.
For more information about Endeavour and its portfolio, please visit www.endeavourvision.com.
About Schroders
Schroders is a global asset management company with CHF 455.6 billion assets under management (as of 30 June, 2015). The asset manager's clients are major financial institutions including pension funds, banks and insurance companies, local and public authorities, governments, charities, high-net-worth individuals and retail investors. Schroders has developed under stable ownership for over 210 years.
Schroders has been active in Switzerland since 1967. With CHF 26.4 billion of assets under management and around 260 employees, Switzerland is Schroders' second most important market outside the UK. The Schroders Private Equity department working from the Geneva office has been active since 2007, and currently manages a portfolio of eight direct investments across sectors and geographies.
About VI Partners
VI Partners is a leading Swiss venture capital firm that invests in university spin-off's as well as in promising companies in the healthcare and ICT sectors. Over the last decade, more than 30 successful investments were made in Switzerland and surrounding regions to develop promising technology-based ideas for products and services into successful businesses. VI Partners team combines seasoned investment professionals and a worldwide recognized network of experts from the industry, financial and consulting sectors.
For more information please contact:
Switzerland Media Contact:
Fergus Dullaghan
41 (0) 79 101 88 92
fergus@charlescannon.com
UK Media and IR Contacts:
Mary-Jane Elliott/Lindsey Neville
Consilium Strategic Communications
+44 20 3709 5707
Cequr@consilium-comms.com
Lynsey Conway
+44 1428 481705
email@lynseyconway.co.uk
US Media Contact:
Michele Parisi
1-925-429-1850
mparisi@forwardhealthinc.com
[1] International Diabetes Foundation, IMS, Health Advances and CeQur management estimates
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