PRESS RELEASE:
– Chris Garabedian to Serve as Chairman and CEO –
– Perceptive Advisors is Exclusive Investor and Joins Board as Strategic Partner –
BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–May 18, 2017–
Xontogeny LLC, a new life sciences accelerator operating company focused on the early development of pharmaceuticals and other technologies, today announced the closing of a $15 million tranche of a $25 million Series A financing.
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Chris Garabedian (Photo: Alex Gagne)
Xontogeny was founded by industry veteran, Chris Garabedian, who will serve as Chairman and CEO. Perceptive Advisors, the exclusive institutional investor in the Series A financing, will be represented on Xontogeny’s Board of Directors by Joseph Edelman, Perceptive’s Chief Executive Officer and Adam Stone, Perceptive’s Chief Investment Officer.
Xontogeny is assembling a senior team of life science professionals with deep experience in drug development to advance a select portfolio of product candidates and technologies in ventures that are focused across a number of serious disease areas from preclinical through clinical proof-of-concept studies.
Mr. Garabedian will partner with Xontogeny’s portfolio companies by serving as an active mentor and advisor to the CEOs in the role as Executive Chair or as an active member of the Board of Directors. In addition, founding scientists and entrepreneurs will work alongside Xontogeny’s experienced leadership team and its network of advisors and service providers. Xontogeny will further support the management of these companies by providing expertise and strategic direction across the spectrum of preclinical and clinical development and program management, while enabling a lean and efficient infrastructure until a program is further de-risked.
“Xontogeny was founded to increase the historically low success rate of life sciences technology in early development and to provide a more efficient operating model through a strong partnership with passionate founders who are expert in a given technology. The goal is to achieve compelling clinical proof-of-concept with an experienced operating team,” said Mr. Garabedian. He added, “I’m enthusiastic to partner with Perceptive Advisors and to benefit from their long and successful track record of fueling innovation in life science and their rigorous evaluation and analysis of fundamentals to recognize the type of value that will resonate with the broader life science investment community.”
“We are very excited to partner with Chris and Xontogeny. His tremendous experience in the industry and his success in advancing technology through clinical development give us the confidence in our belief that Xontogeny’s novel approach to early drug development will yield positive results,” said Joe Edelman, Chief Executive Officer of Perceptive Advisors. He added, “We also are interested in increasing our access to investments in early stage private companies and Xontogeny will provide a vehicle to support companies that we are actively involved with from inception.”
Xontogeny intends to use the proceeds from this financing to manage operations, build its team of experts, and advance early stage development of life science products in its portfolio companies.
About Chris Garabedian
Chris Garabedian founded Xontogeny in June of 2016 to support the development of multiple promising technologies from early development through clinical proof-of-concept. Chris has a broad base of experience and a track record of success across his 25 years in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry, including at two of the most successful biopharma companies over the last 20 years, Gilead and Celgene.
Most recently, Chris served as the President and CEO of Sarepta Therapeutics, overseeing the turnaround of a company that is now a commercial-stage leader in genetic technology after leading the development of the company’s Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy program. Prior to Sarepta, Chris served as VP of Corporate Strategy for Celgene from 2007 to 2010 and in a number of global leadership roles at Gilead from 1997 to 2005, including as VP of Corporate Development, VP of Medical Affairs and VP of Marketing. Chris is currently on the Board of Directors of MassBio, on the Board of Advisors for the Keck Graduate Institute and serves as a Senior Advisor to the Boston Consulting Group.
About Xontogeny, LLC
Based in Boston, MA, Xontogeny seeks to accelerate the development of life science technologies by providing entrepreneurs with the leadership, strategic guidance and operational support necessary to increase the probability of success in early drug and technology development. Through a differentiated approach, the Xontogeny team partners with the founding scientists and entrepreneurs of new ventures to support their vision while allowing a more efficient development model to benefit company founders and early equity holders. For more information, please visit www.xontogeny.com or contact Xontogeny by emailing info@xontogeny.com.
About Perceptive Advisors
Founded in 1999 and based in New York, NY, Perceptive Advisors is an investment management firm focused on supporting the progress of the life sciences industry by identifying opportunities and directing financial resources to the most promising technologies in healthcare. For more information about Perceptive, visit www.perceptivelife.com.
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Xontogeny Contact:
Heather Petty, 857-241-3704
heather@xontogeny.com
or
Media Contact:
LaVoieHealthScience
Andrew Mastrangelo, 617-374-8800 ext. 108
amastrangelo@lavoiehealthscience.com