HealthCare Royalty Partners Commits Over $300 Million in New Investments in December and Over $425 Million in 2012

STAMFORD, Conn., Jan. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- HealthCare Royalty Partners ("HC Royalty"), a global healthcare investment firm, today announced that it committed over $300 million in December 2012 across five investments. Total capital committed by the HC Royalty team in 2012 exceeded $425 million.

"2012 proved to be another robust year for deal activity in the royalty market. Our team evaluated several hundred investment opportunities and committed a significant amount of capital across eight investments. We believe the strength of this market is further validation that companies need access to a greater pool of capital to bring critical products to patients and move their pipelines forward," commented Todd Davis, Founding Managing Director at HC Royalty. He continued, "Our firm has been a significant financial resource for commercial stage and near commercial stage companies, as we offer a broad and flexible investment platform that delivers non-dilutive forms of capital."

Select 2012 product investments include:

LYRICA®: HC Royalty purchased a royalty interest in LYRICA® from an inventor. LYRICA® is one of Pfizer's premier drugs for the treatment of neuropathic pain with trailing twelve month sales exceeding $3.5 billion worldwide.  The firm believes this is one of the largest stand-alone inventor monetizations consummated.

Meningitec™, HibTITER®, NU100 and several other products: An $80 million structured financing was completed with privately-held Nuron Biotech. The financing included a $30 million equity investment and a $50 million Synthetic Royalty® agreement tied to future sales of Meningitec™, HibTITER® and the company's other products, including NU100. The capital is being used to support the commercialization and expansion of Meningitec™ (recently acquired from Pfizer), an established commercial vaccine for the prevention of invasive disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C. It is also being used to fund the clinical development of the company's novel biologics and vaccines for infectious and neurodegenerative diseases. The financing is a structured deal that offers less dilutive growth capital for an emerging biopharmaceutical company.

PROCYSBI™: A $50 million loan agreement was completed with Raptor Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: RPTP) to help fund the commercialization of PROCYSBI™, the branded name of RP103 for the potential treatment of nephropathic cystinosis, and to advance the company's development programs. The loan which matures on December 31, 2019, bears interest at an annual fixed rate of 10.75% and a Synthetic Royalty® variable rate, tiered down, based on a percentage of future PROCYSBI sales. This financing represents another form of non-dilutive growth capital for a company on the verge of approval and launch of an important therapeutic product to treat an orphan indication.  

Eligard^®: HC Royalty acquired a royalty interest in Eligard® European sales from Medigene AG for $18 million. Eligard is a hormone compound for the treatment of advanced, hormone-dependent prostate cancer that is currently marketed by AstellasPharma Europe Ltd. This non-dilutive financing enabled Medigene to fund its pipeline including the company's lead drug candidate, Endotag for the treatment of pancreatic and breast cancer.

About HealthCare Royalty Partners
HealthCare Royalty Partners is a global healthcare investment firm focused on providing financing solutions to healthcare companies and royalty owners with interests in approved pharmaceutical and medical device products. The firm's senior investment team has participated in 45 royalty financings valued at over $2 billion over the past decade. For more information, visit www.healthcareroyalty.com/.   

Media Contact:         
Kellie Walsh
914-315-6072
[email protected]

SOURCE HealthCare Royalty Partners