Domain Associates’ Laguna Niguel office made a big splash in San Diego County.
Domain and Prospect Venture Partners of Palo Alto led a $78 million first round of funding for San Diego-based Verus Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Verus focuses on drugs to treat breathing problems in kids. The company plans to license drugs and bring them to market, rather than focus on early stage research and development.
The company’s strategy is similar to that of Dura Pharmaceuticals, a San Diego startup sold in 2000 to Ireland’s Elan Corp. for $1.8 billion.
Domain also was an investor in Dura. During its 20-year history, Domain has counted some of medical technology’s biggest names as investments.
They include: Amgen Inc. of Thousand Oaks; Seattle’s Immunex Corp., which Amgen purchased for $16 billion in 2002; U.S. Bioscience Inc., now part of MedImmune Inc. of Gaithersburg, Md., and Sicor Inc., the Irvine drug maker that’s now part of Israel’s Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
Verus’ funding included $20 million from Paul Royalty Fund of New York, an investment that’s tied to royalty payments on a specific product Verus is in the process of acquiring.
Olav Bergheim, a Laguna-based Domain venture partner, is joining Verus’ board in connection with the deal.
Domain’s “very excited about Verus’ pediatric-oriented strategy and their initial focus on the treatment of asthma, allergies and related diseases and conditions,” Bergheim said in a release. The money, according to Bergheim, positions Verus “to become the partner of choice for those companies interested in optimizing the development and commercialization of novel, pediatric-oriented products.”
Implant Maker Raises $10M
Pegasus Biologics Inc., an Irvine medical device startup, raised $10 million in a second round of venture funding.
Pegasus has raised just under $12 million in total after a $1.65 million first round back in January.
Three Arch Partners of Portola Valley and Frazier Healthcare Ventures of Seattle led the latest round, with Life Science Angels Inc. of Palo Alto.
Michael Kaplan from Three Arch and Trevor Moody from Frazier joined Pegasus’ board of directors.
Pegasus said part of the money would be used to launch its OrthAdapt Bioimplant, which helps repair soft tissue in orthopedic and sports medicine procedures.
“Furthermore, it will enable us to complete our human studies on the DurAdapt Bioimplant for repair of the dura mater during craniotomy and spine operations, and for final development of a biologic solution for replacement of the anterior cruciate ligament,” said France Dixon Helfer, Pegasus’ president and founder, in a release.
Pegasus, on its Web site, said clinical studies showed that OrthAdapt could be suitable for orthopedic conditions where there is a need to reinforce soft tissue. The company, founded in 2003, is developing collagen-based bioimplants to advance soft tissue repair in the orthopedic, spine and neurosurgery fields.
Governor Signs Daucher Bill
CalOptima in Orange and other county healthcare providers now can compete with managed care plans for Medicare patients, thanks to a law authored by an Orange County legislator.
Assembly Bill 65 from Lynn Daucher, R-Brea, authorized CalOptima and other health plans around California to extend their Medi-Cal healthcare delivery systems to people who are eligible for Medicare or both government healthcare programs.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the bill earlier this month.
A California legislative counsel’s digest says the law could help boost county health providers by allowing them to compete with private managed care plans, along with allowing them additional flexibility to develop healthcare services for people who are eligible for both Medi-Cal and Medicare.
In a statement, Richard Chambers, CalOptima’s chief executive, said the agency expects OneCare, its new coordinated healthcare program, to be operating by Aug. 1.
CalOptima, a nonprofit, is primarily responsible for administering Medi-Cal benefits for the county government. CalOptima, which began operating in 1995, serves some 290,000 OC residents who are eligible for Medi-Cal. The agency contracts with 11 health networks and also participates in Healthy Families, a program designed to give health insurance to children whose parents work, but can’t provide healthcare.
Bits and Pieces:
Kaiser Permanente has opened its Sand Canyon specialty services medical office complex in Irvine. Services include outpatient surgery and urgent care. Kaiser said a new hospital that’s under construction on the campus should open in fall 2007 Cardiogenesis Corp., Foothill Ranch, said it received a binding letter of agreement from the Food and Drug Administration regarding a clinical trial design for a minimally invasive procedure designed to treat people with angina. Cardiogenesis said it planned to submit an investigational device exemption application to regulators by the end of the month and begin the trial soon after approval Patient Care Technology Systems, Aliso Viejo, said its Amelior ED medical software system is being used in the three emergency departments of Albert Einstein Healthcare Network in Philadelphia.
