LÖRRACH, Germany and SAINT LOUIS, France, April 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

The creation of Allecra Therapeutics, a new company joining the established European BioValley Life Sciences cluster, was announced today.  Allecra is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of novel antibiotics to combat multi drug-resistant bacterial infections.  Allecra's €15 million Series A financing round was co-led by Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners and Forbion Capital Partners.  EMBL Ventures also participated.  Allecra is a strategic partnership between the company's founders including Nicholas Benedict, CEO of Allecra working in conjunction with Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Limited (Chennai, India).

Bacterial resistance to current antibiotics is widespread and growing exponentially, compromising doctors' ability to treat serious infections in patients receiving care both in hospitals and in the community.  Governments, non-governmental agencies and the medical community have called for increased urgency and decisive action to combat what has been called the "epidemic of antibiotic-resistance"^[1].  Allecra's mission is to contribute to this cause by developing new treatments which overcome emerging bacterial resistance mechanisms, thereby saving lives of patients whose infections may otherwise may be  inadequately treated.

Nicholas Benedict, Allecra's CEO said, "To combat the increasing threat of bacterial resistance the medical community is trying to conserve the use of currently available antibiotics.  At the same time, the biopharmaceutical industry is working to find new antibiotics.  These objectives are complimentary activities in the increasingly urgent battle against bacterial resistance.  Allecra has been formed in order to find new cures for some of the most widespread and hardest to treat resistant infections."

Commenting on this partnership, Orchid's Chairman & Managing Director, Mr K. Raghavendra Rao said, "We have always believed in building collaborative business models to achieving our vision.  This strategic partnership with Allecra is yet another demonstration of how we can create value by harnessing the relative strengths of each company."

Holger Reithinger of Forbion Capital Partners and member of Allecra's Board said, "It is our shared objective at Allecra to deliver to the medical community novel treatments to help fight the epidemic of bacterial resistance.  We have a specialist team, each of whom is deeply experienced in the development of antibiotics and which collectively is supported by a world-leading group of Opinion Leaders."

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1. Infectious Disease Society of America, Spelberg B., et al.  The Epidemic of Anti-Biotic Resistant Infections CID 2008:46

Olivier Litzka of Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners and member of Allecra's Board added, "Allecra's strategic partnership with Orchid is an innovative collaboration bringing together Allecra's strong development capability with Orchid's track record in antibiotic research and manufacturing. Allecra is supported by a Scientific Advisory Board consisting of world-renowned experts and Allecra's Board of Directors comprises key appointments of entrepreneurs and industrialists with  records of success in this area.   This is a new company built on a solid foundation for success."

About Allecra Therapeutics

Allecra is a biopharmaceutical company established in 2013 in the European BioValley Life Sciences cluster which is located in the Upper Rhein valley encompassing northwest Switzerland, southeastern Germany and the Alsace Region of France.  Allecra is focussed on the development of novel treatments to combat multi drug-resistant bacterial infections.  The company is based on a strategic partnership between its Founders, Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (Chennai, India) and its lead investors Forbion Capital Partners and Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners.  Allecra's mission is to contribute towards the global effort to combat antibiotic resistance by developing new treatments which overcome emerging resistance mechanisms thereby saving lives of patients whose infections may otherwise may be inadequately treated.  For more information on Allecra please visit http://www.allecra.com or email info@allecra.com.

About Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (Orchid) was established in Chennai, India in 1992 as an export-oriented unit (EOU).  Orchid is a vertically integrated company spanning the entire pharmaceutical value chain from discovery to delivery with established credentials in research, manufacturing and marketing. Orchid today ranks among the top 15 pharmaceutical companies in India and enjoys a multi-therapeutic presence across segments like anti-infectives, anti-inflammatory, central nervous system (CNS), cardio vascular segment (CVS), nutraceuticals and other oral and sterile products. Orchid's pharmaceutical solutions include active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), finished dosage forms, new drug discovery (NDD), novel drug delivery systems (NDDS) and contract research and manufacturing services (CRAMS). Orchid is globally present across 70+ countries through alliances, joint ventures and partnerships with globally reputed majors.

About Forbion Capital Partners

Forbion Capital Partners is a dedicated Life Sciences venture capital firm with offices in Naarden, The Netherlands, and Munich, Germany. Forbion invests in life sciences companies in drug discovery & development as well as medical device companies addressing substantial unmet medical needs. Forbion's  investment  team  of  nine  investment  professionals  has  built   an impressive performance track record since the late nineties with successful investments in Rhein Biotech, Crucell, Neutec, Glycart, Borean, Impella, Alantos, Acorda, Fovea, PanGenetics, Argenta Discovery and most recently Biovex and Pathway Medical. Current assets under management exceed $550M, split between four active funds and comprising some 29 promising portfolio companies. Forbion Capital Partners Fund II is supported by the European Investment Fund through its ERP and LfA facilities. Forbion co-manages Biogeneration Ventures, an early stage fund focused on (academic) spin-outs and seed investments in the Netherlands. For more information, please visit http://www.forbion.com.

About Edmond de Rothschild Group

Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners is the private equity affiliate of the Edmond de Rothschild Group which is specialised in asset management and private banking (EUR 125bn under management, 2,900 employees and 30 offices throughout the world). Founded in 1953, the Group has been chaired since 1997 by the founder's son, Baron Benjamin de Rothschild .

About EMBL Ventures

EMBL Ventures is an independent venture capital investor that manages two Funds with a total of €68 million capital on behalf of major European institutional and private investors. Currently it invests with its second Fund, the EMBL Technology Fund II. EMBL Ventures' close relationship with the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and its technology transfer organization EMBL Enterprise Management Technology Transfer GmbH (EMBLEM) allows it to finance disruptive technologies in an entrepreneurial start-up environment, aiming ultimately for a transaction with a partner that is seeking to acquire external product innovation. EMBL Ventures is exclusively focused on life-science investments. EMBL Technology Fund II is supported by the European Communities Growth and Employment Initiative, MAP - ETF Start up Facility.

For further information please contact

Allecra Therapeutics GmbH
Nicholas Benedict
+41-79-592-2005
info@allecra.com

SOURCE Allecra Therapeutics