Seres Health Announces $65 Million Investment from Nestle Health Science

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Seres Health, Inc., a leading microbiome therapeutics platform company developing a novel class of biological drugs that are designed to treat diseases by restoring the function of a dysbiotic microbiome, announced today that it has completed a $65 million Series D preferred stock investment by Nestle Health Science, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nestle.  Together with its recently announced $48 million Series C preferred stock financing, Seres Health had over $110 million of cash and investments at the end of 2014.

In connection with the investment, Nestle Health Science's CEO, Greg Behar, joined the Seres Board of Directors.  The proceeds from these financings will fund the further development of Seres' first-in-field, lead product candidate, SER-109, for preventing the recurrence of Clostridium difficile infection, into Phase 3 clinical trials as well as the advancement of the company's pipeline of therapeutics to treat other diseases of the human microbiome.

Seres is developing the first Ecobiotic® therapeutic products, novel drugs to treat important diseases by targeting the underlying biology of the human microbiome. Current product candidates span infectious, metabolic, and inflammatory diseases.

"Nestle Health Science has identified the microbiome as an area of strategic importance for our emerging novel therapeutics practice and we expect that investing in an industry leader like Seres Health will help us reach our ambitions of addressing health conditions in the area of Gastrointestinal, Metabolic and Brain Health," said Greg Behar, CEO of Nestle Health Science. "With its mission to produce innovative microbiome therapeutics for patients, Seres is an ideal investment for us as we move forward our goals of shaping new approaches to health management."

"We are excited about Nestle Health Science's commitment to providing patients with novel therapeutics," said Dr. Roger J. Pomerantz, President, CEO and Chairman of Seres Health. "Nestle Health Science has made the microbiome a priority and we are pleased they view Seres as the leader in microbiome therapeutic development.  We expect this investment will accelerate the discovery and development of our pioneering drugs in this new field."

"Having worked for several months with the Nestle Health Science team in evaluating partnership opportunities, I am impressed by their vision to create an innovative business," said Dr. Noubar Afeyan, Managing Member and CEO of Flagship Ventures, and co-founder and lead investor of Seres Health. "We welcome them as a co-investor and Greg Behar as a board member of Seres Health. We look forward to jointly maximizing the value of Seres and the impact of the innovative medicines it is developing."

About Seres Health

Seres Health is a leading microbiome therapeutics platform company developing a novel class of biological drugs that are designed to treat disease by restoring the function of a dysbiotic microbiome.  For more information, please visit www.sereshealth.com.

About Nestle Health Science

Nestle Health Science, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nestle, is a health-science company engaged in advancing the role of nutritional therapy to change the course of health for consumers, patients and our partners in healthcare. Its portfolio of nutrition solutions, diagnostics, devices and drugs, targets a number of health areas, such as inborn errors of metabolism, pediatric and acute care, obesity care, healthy ageing, and gastrointestinal and brain health. Nestle Health Science employs around 3,000 people worldwide and is headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. For more information, please visit www.nestlehealthscience.com.

Contact:
Alex Terrono
[email protected]
212-593-6398 

SOURCE Seres Health

Related Links

http://www.sereshealth.com