Covagen Adds Baxter Ventures as Investor

ZURICH-SCHLIEREN, Switzerland, Feb. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Covagen today announced it has added Baxter Ventures as an investor in its Series B financing round raising the total to CHF 44.9 million. The Series B includes an option for all existing investors to invest an additional CHF 14 million in the future potentially increasing the total amount of this financing round to CHF 58.9 million.

The additional financing will primarily support the clinical development of Covagen's lead FynomAb® COVA322, a bispecific TNF/IL-17A inhibitor for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and other inflammatory diseases. COVA322 has a novel mechanism of action not accessible with monoclonal antibodies and is expected to enter clinical trials in early 2014.

"Baxter's investment in our Series B round represents further validation that Covagen's bispecific FynomAb technology is uniquely capable of improving the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases," said Julian Bertschinger, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Covagen. "Adding an additional U.S. investor with the breadth and experience of Baxter Ventures will allow us to continue to advance towards our goal of bringing our lead FynomAb COVA322 through proof-of-concept in the clinic and strengthen our discovery programs in oncology."

Geeta Vemuri, vice president and head of Baxter Ventures added, "Covagen's bispecific FynomAb technology and highly capable management team made this an attractive investment for Baxter. The unique capability of FynomAbs to access new biology and novel modes-of-action offers the potential to improve the lives of patients suffering from cancer and inflammatory diseases."

About Baxter Ventures
Baxter Ventures is a venture initiative established in 2011 by Baxter International Inc. to invest in companies with innovative technologies, products and therapies with the ability to improve patient care globally and maximize value for investors and entrepreneurs. Baxter International Inc. is a global, diversified healthcare company that applies a unique combination of expertise in biotechnology, medical devices and pharmaceuticals to create products that advance patient care worldwide.

About Covagen
Covagen develops bispecific FynomAbs by fusing its human Fynomer binding proteins to antibodies resulting in therapeutics with novel modes-of-action and enhanced efficacy in the treatment of inflammatory diseases and cancer. Fynomers are small binding proteins that can be engineered to bind an antigen of interest. The ability to fuse Fynomers to multiple sites on an antibody allows Covagen to create FynomAbs with tailored architectures to maximize efficacy. Covagen is a privately held Swiss Biotech company with an internal lead bispecific anti-TNF/IL-17A FynomAb moving towards first-in-human studies in early 2014. In 2012, Covagen entered into a strategic alliance, which was recently expanded, with Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation for the development of bispecific FynomAbs.

For more information please visit www.covagen.com

SOURCE Covagen