> Home    > News & Press Releases

News and Press Releases:

Sorbent Therapeutics Completes $36 Million Series B Financing for Net of $53 Million

- Capital to Support Completion of Phase 2 of CLP1001 in Heart Failure -

Sunnyvale, California – June 30, 2011 – Sorbent Therapeutics, a private biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for cardiovascular and renal disorders, announced today that it has expanded the Company’s Series B financing from September 2010 by $36 million. This brings the total proceeds of the Company’s second financing round to $53 million. New investor Novartis Venture Funds led this financing, joining existing investors Sofinnova Ventures, ARCH Venture Partners, CMEA Capital and AgeChem.

"The CLP platform of Sorbent presents an attractive investment opportunity and we are especially encouraged by the clinical data that Sorbent has generated to date, which shows promise for various indications in the cardio-renal field," said Markus Goebel, M.D., Ph.D., managing director of Novartis Venture Funds who has joined the Company's board of directors in connection with the investment in Sorbent.

"Dr. Gobel’s expertise in business development in the pharmaceutical industry and operational knowledge of drug development will be invaluable to the Sorbent team," commented David Collier, M.D., managing director of life sciences for CMEA Capital and a member of Sorbent’s Board of Directors. "We look forward to working with him to advance Sorbent’s clinical and corporate goals."

"Novartis Venture Funds’ participation provides key validation of Sorbent’s strategy and pipeline. I also would like to thank our existing investors for their continued support," added Detlef Albrecht, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Sorbent. "The financing will enable Sorbent to complete Phase 2 for its lead program in heart failure, CLP1001. We believe CLP1001 has the potential to address a significant need in the cardiovascular market for safe and effective management of electrolyte and fluid levels in patients with CHF."

About CLP1001 in Heart Failure

Sorbent’s lead product, CLP1001, is a polymer that has been shown to remove potassium, sodium and fluid with good tolerability in over 100 patients and healthy volunteers. The addition of CLP1001 to the treatment regimen in heart failure patients may address fluid overload and the risk of hyperkalemia related to the use of multiple RAAS (Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System) blockers.

About Congestive Heart Failure

Congestive heart failure is a serious and life-threatening condition that develops when the heart loses its ability to pump blood efficiently, allowing fluid to accumulate in the lungs, abdominal organs (especially the liver) and peripheral tissues. According to the American Heart Association, approximately 5.7 million people in the U.S. are living with heart failure, a condition that accounts for 1.1 million hospitalizations each year. Heart failure is estimated to cost the U.S. healthcare system over $37 billion annually.

About Sorbent

Sorbent Therapeutics is a private biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for patients requiring targeted cation and fluid removal from the body. The company is focused on the development of a platform of non-absorbed polymeric drugs to satisfy unmet clinical needs in large cardiovascular and renal markets such as heart failure, end stage renal disease, chronic kidney disease and hypertension. The company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. For more information, visit www.sorbent.com.

# # #

SORBENT THERAPEUTICS RAISES $21.8 MILLION IN A SERIES B FINANCING AND APPOINTS NEW CEO

The financing is based on positive clinical data showing the safety and efficacy of Sorbent’s lead drug candidate for sodium, potassium, and fluid removal

Sunnyvale, California – September 10, 2010 – Sorbent Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for patients requiring sodium, potassium and fluid removal, announced today that it has closed a $21.8 million Series B financing round and appointed Detlef F. Albrecht, M.D., as President and CEO.

SERIES B FINANCING

Participants in the Series B financing round included new investor AgeChem and existing investors CMEA Capital, ARCH Venture Partners, Sofinnova Ventures, and The Dow Chemical Company through its Venture Capital group. Sorbent will use the capital to advance the clinical development of its lead drug candidate CLP-1001 for patients with sodium and fluid overload or risk for hyperkalemia in renal and cardiovascular diseases, such as End Stage Renal Disease and Congestive Heart Failure.

"I would like to thank our existing investors for their continued support, and welcome AgeChem into the fold," commented Detlef Albrecht, M.D., President and CEO of Sorbent. "This significant financing underscores the confidence our investors have in our clinical results to date and in our opportunity going forward."

Initial human clinical data in over 100 subjects show the safety and efficacy of the Sorbent platform in removing sodium and potassium from patients, as well as its potential benefit to patients with renal and cardiovascular disease.

"Sorbent’s polymer technology is compelling because it is not delivered or absorbed systemically, yet it addresses fluid and ion imbalances effectively," commented Nancy Hsiung, Ph.D., a Partner at Agechem. "We look forward to working with the Sorbent management team and the other investors to progress the CLP platform through various clinical indications and toward the marketplace."

ABOUT DR. ALBRECHT

Dr. Albrecht was most recently Chief Medical Officer with Sorbent. Donald Joseph, Sorbent’s founding CEO, will continue to serve on the Board of Directors.

"The promotion of Dr. Albrecht strengthens the management team so that we can take full advantage of the opportunities we have with our lead product candidate," said David Collier, M.D., a Managing Director of CMEA Capital. "His proven track record and experience in productdevelopment, company building and partnering will help facilitate the advancement of the pipeline based on the CLP technology."

Dr. Albrecht has over 20 years of experience in pre-clinical and clinical research, drug development and executive management. Prior to joining Sorbent, he has built and run R&D organizations at Ilypsa (acquired by Amgen in 2007 for $420 million) and Relypsa, where he also participated in raising over $100 million in financing. Between 1992 and 2004, he led or co-led development teams at Schwarz Pharma and ALZA that achieved two US NDAs, three supplemental US NDAs and five EU Market Authorizations for products such as Edex®, Duragesic®, Ditropan XL®, Doxil®, and Concerta,® with total global 2009 sales of well over $3 billion.

Dr. Albrecht started his medical career as a practicing physician specializing in urology and performed clinical and pre-clinical research for the diagnosis and therapy of erectile dysfunction, urologic oncology, and urinary incontinence. He holds both medical and doctorate degrees from the RWTH University in Aachen, Germany.

ABOUT SORBENT THERAPEUTICS

Sorbent Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for patients requiring targeted cation and fluid removal. The company is focused on the development of adaptable non-absorbed polymeric drugs to satisfy unmet clinical needs in large renal and cardiovascular markets such as End Stage Renal Disease, Congestive Heart Failure, Chronic Kidney Disease, and hypertension. The company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. For more information, visit www.sorbent.com.