NanoPass Secures Series B Investment to Accelerate Commercialization of its Intradermal Delivery Products

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Jul 30, 2012, 09:00 ET

NES ZIONA, Israel, July 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

NanoPass Technologies Ltd., a pioneer in the development and commercialization of painless intradermal (skin) delivery solutions for vaccines and large molecules, announced today it has recently closed a new round of financing, led by Israel HealthCare Ventures (IHCV), a leading healthcare-dedicated venture capital fund, with the participation of current investors.

The capital raised will be used to accelerate the market penetration of NanoPass' leading applications through additional licenses with pharmaceutical companies.

As part of the financing, Dr Hadar Ron, Managing Partner of IHCV, has joined the Company's Board of Directors. In addition, Mr. Marvin Samson has been appointed as a Director.

Mr. Samson, founder and CEO of Samson Medical Technologies and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of the Sciences, was formerly a Group Vice President - Worldwide Injectables of Teva, previously having served as CEO and a member of the Board of Directors of Sicor (acquired in 2004 by Teva for $3.4 billion). He was also the CEO of Qualitest Pharmaceuticals. He is an expert in injectable manufacturing and delivery systems and was a founder and CEO of Elkins-Sinn (today, West-Ward Pharmaceuticals, one of the largest generic injectables companies in the U.S.) and Marsam Pharmaceuticals.

"We are excited to have Dr. Ron and Mr. Samson on our Board of Directors as they bring unmatched industry expertise and experience to strengthen our team", said Yotam Levin, MD, MBA, NanoPass' CEO. "By utilizing our technology for nearly painless, shallow and consistent delivery of vaccines, we have demonstrated in a recent phase II study that we actually improve the immune response of seasonal flu vaccines in the most challenging and important population of all, the elderly, despite the fact that we are using only 20% of the dose. This is an enabling technology which allows reducing the dose, improving the vaccination effect and at the same time improving patient comfort and compliance, making it an attractive proposition for healthcare payers, vaccine companies, doctors and patients".

Dr. Hadar Ron, Managing Partner of IHCV, added "We are excited to lead the investment and join NanoPass in its clinical and commercial efforts. The potential of the company's technology is much broader than the vaccine markets and the team is determined to expand into lucrative applications such as insulin delivery, aesthetics and more."

About NanoPass Technologies Ltd.

NanoPass has concluded the world's first ID pandemic flu vaccine study and additional seasonal flu studies, demonstrating equivalent or superior immunogenicity to standard delivery using only 20% of the dose ^[i,ii].

The company is backed by prominent Israeli and US investors ‎and medical device companies, including IHCV, Ofer Hi-Tech, D-Partners, WFD Ventures and ‎Elcam Medical.‎ The Company's device MicronJet600 has an FDA registration and a CE Mark (see label).

About IHCV

Israel HealthCare Ventures (IHCV) provides venture capital investment to Israeli and Israeli related companies in the fields of medical devices, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and medical-related IT. Headquartered in Tel Aviv, IHCV was founded in March 2001 by prominent US and European investors from the pharmaceutical and financial services worlds. It is led by highly experienced medical analysts and advisors. IHCV takes a hands-on approach, providing portfolio companies with clinical advice, management consulting and an extensive network of contacts throughout the global medical and financial fields.

i Hung IF, Levin Y, To KK. Vaccine. Vaccine. 2012 Apr 5;30(17):2707-8. Epub 2011 Dec 27.Quantitative and ‎qualitative analysis of antibody response after dose sparing intradermal 2009 H1N1 vaccination.‎

ii Van Damme P, Oosterhuis-Kafeja F, Van der Wielen M, Almagor Y, Sharon O, Levin Y. Safety and efficacy of a novel microneedle device for dose sparing intradermal influenza vaccination in healthy adults. Vaccine. 2009 Jan 14;27(3):454-9.

SOURCE NanoPass Technologies LTD.