Caxton Advantage Venture Partners Announces Formation of Valence Life Sciences

NEW YORK and SAN DIEGO, Feb. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Caxton Advantage Venture Partners, L.P. ("Caxton Advantage"), the life sciences venture capital firm founded in 2006 by Dr. Rachel Leheny, Eric Roberts and an affiliate of Caxton Associates LP ("Caxton") today announced the formation of an entity independent from the affiliate of Caxton, the New York based investment management firm.  The new, independent firm, Valence Life Sciences, LLC, will continue as an investment manager focused on privately-held and micro-cap public, clinical development stage life sciences companies--the same strategy carried out in partnership with Caxton.  Dr. Leheny and Mr. Roberts have worked with life sciences companies together since 1998, initially as one of the most successful investment banking and equity research teams in the life sciences industry. 

Dr. Leheny, Mr. Roberts and their team will continue to manage Caxton Advantage's nine portfolio companies.  Caxton will remain an investor in the remaining companies in Caxton Advantage's portfolio, for which Dr. Leheny, Mr. Roberts and their team have thus far generated realizations in Gemin X Pharmaceuticals (sold to Cephalon, now Teva Pharmaceutical, for up to $525 million) and Corthera (sold to Novartis for up to $720 million) and through the initial public offering of Anthera Pharmaceuticals.  In addition, Caxton Advantage has made substantial investments in Vivus, Sunesis, ArQule, Regado, Gentium and Transcept.  Today, only one private company remains in Caxton Advantage's portfolio.

Jay Cecil and Scott Morenstein, who have been at Caxton Advantage, will also be part of the investment team serving as managing directors at Valence Life Sciences.  Bruce Kovner, who announced his retirement from Caxton at the end of 2011, will serve on the Valence Life Sciences investment committee along with Dr. Leheny and Mr. Roberts.  In addition, Valence Life Sciences will have an Industry Advisory Board composed of former senior executives of some of the largest pharmaceutical companies including: Peter Dolan (former Chairman and CEO of Bristol-Myers Squibb), Hank McKinnell, Ph.D. (former Chairman and CEO of Pfizer), Franceso Bellini, Ph.D. (former Chairman and CEO of BioChem Pharma), Dani Bolognesi, Ph.D. (former Vice Chairman and CEO of Trimeris), and Robert Bonczek (former CFO of Trimeris).   

About Valence Life Sciences

Valence Life Sciences is a New York- and San Diego-based life sciences venture capital firm founded by Dr. Rachel Leheny and Eric Roberts to focus on clinical development stage private and micro-cap public companies. The founders have worked together since 1998.  The other members of Valence Life Sciences' investment team include managing directors, Jay Cecil and Scott Morenstein. The investment team currently manages Caxton Advantage Life Sciences Fund.

CONTACT:

Investor Relations: The Trout Group
Brian Korb
[email protected]
646-378-2923

Valence Life Sciences, LLC
Eric Roberts
[email protected]
212-891-1160

SOURCE Valence Life Sciences; Caxton Advantage Venture Partners, L.P.