Pharmaxon : Hospital Mutual Insurance Company SHAM takes a stake in...

Marseille (France), 25 November 2009 - Pharmaxon, a biotechnology company that develops first-inclass neurological disease therapeutics targeting cell mobility, announced a capital increase of €1.7 million from Primaveris and the Lyon-based mutual insurance company, SHAM. This decision was approved at Pharmaxon’s annual general meeting on 28 September 2009.
After a first seed funding round of €440,000 (Inserm Transfert, Initiative, Esperante and Primaveris), together with €2.3 million in grants and public financing, the company raised a total of about €4.4 million since its inception.
This operation will mainly help Pharmaxon to finance the preclinical development of PR-21, its most advanced compound.
PR-21 is a cell mobility activator which is being developed to treat acute spinal cord injury. This orphan disease is currently only treated with corticoids whose side effects are unanimously recognized. By using PR-21, the final objective is to restore motivity and autonomic functions by speeding up the regrowth of axons.
After the validation of the proof-of-principle, PR-21 is now being assessed within the scope a preclinical toxicology study. The compound is expected to move into clinical development phase by January 2011...

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About Pharmaxon
Founded in 2004, Pharmaxon is a biotechnology company that develops first-in-class drugs based on the manipulation of cell mobility.
Pharmaxon's therapeutic targets contribute to the movements and the survival of neurons and are for this reason implied in many diseases and neurological cancers. Thus, the compounds of the company cover a large range of potential indications addressing a total market of several billion euros in neurology and oncology The pioneering work of Pharmaxon’s founding scientists and team has uncovered a new pharmacological mechanism modulating – either stimulating or inhibiting – cell mobility. This therapeutic approach has lead to the identification of two families of compounds having such abilities: cell mobility activators that target Acute Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) and cell mobility inhibitors targeting Glioblastoma Multiforma (GBM), a brain tumors with poor prognosis.
After reaching “proof-of-principle”, Pharmaxon’s first SCI candidate, PR-21, is now undergoing
regulatory preclinical toxicity studies.
Thanks to the potential of its therapeutic approach, its international scientific network and its R&D know-how, Pharmaxon aims to become the leader in the cell mobility neurological field.
Pharmaxon is based in Marseille, France, and now has a staff of 9 scientists, including six with
Pharm.D. or Ph.D. degrees... [PDF] Pharmaxon's Press Release -

Provepharm : acceptance of Proveblue® injectable drug MAA for review under EMEA centralized procedure and validation by Novasep of API cGMP process

Pompey and Marseille, France, February 11 2010 - Novasep, a leading supplier of manufacturing solutions to the life sciences industries, and Provepharm, a start-up specialized in the development of pharmaceutical applications for Proveblue®, announce the successful validation by Novasep of a cGMP manufacturing process for the Proveblue® active pharmaceutical ingredient. This is a major step in bringing compliant methylene-blue-based drugs to market.
At the same time, Provepharm announces that the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has accepted for evaluation the Marketing Authorisation Application (MAA) for Provepharm’s Methylthioninium chloride Proveblue® solution for injection under the Community centralized procedure.
Patented and compliant Proveblue® active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) opens the way to researching and developing methylene-blue-based drug products in a variety of applications, including urinary and ocular antiseptics as well as anti-malarial agents...

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About Novasep
Novasep develops, markets and operates innovative technologies providing life science industries with safe and cost-effective production of active molecules. The global manufacturing solutions offered by Novasep include process development services; purification equipment and systems; contract manufacturing services; and complex active molecules. They apply to:
Synthetic molecules, combining conventional chemistry with special technologies and know-how such as hazardous chemistry, asymmetric synthesis, HPAPI handling, low temperature chemistry, biocatalysis, process chromatography, etc.
Biomolecules, with single unit operations or complete upstream and downstream processes including fermentation and cell culture, innovative batch and continuous purification technologies such as membrane processes, ion exchange, chromatography, crystallization and formulation...

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About Provepharm
Provepharm is an affiliated company of the Provence Technologies Group, devoted to developing and marketing pharmaceutical drug products from active pharmaceutical ingredients synthesized and patented by its parent company. Provepharm expertise is in experienced managers coming from the international pharmaceutical industry. As one of its strategic lines, the Group recognized the pharmaceutical industry trend to explore known compounds in new indications and its increasing need for accessing such API’s at the required level of quality...Novasep's Press Release - [PDF] Provepharm's Press Release -