Xenon Genetics seals major private placement

Xenon Genetics Inc has closed a $70-million private placement with an international syndicate of institutional, venture capital and pharmaceutical firms that it contends is the largest to date for an independent Canadian biotechnology firm. The funding will be used to advance its various drug discovery programs, develop its global network of clinical populations and databases, and expand its laboratory and office space in both Vancouver and Montreal. Lead investors are Fidelity Management & Research Co and INVESCO Private Capital with JP Morgan H&Q acting as placement agent. Other investors include JP Morgan Partners (the world’s largest pool of private capital), Novo A/S, Pfizer Inc, InterWest Partners, Royal Bank Capital Partners, GrowthWorks Capital and Ventures West Management. The Vancouver-based clinical genomics and drug discovery firm is working in the area of cardiovascular, metabolic, neurological and ocular diseases. The investment was announced less than three months after Xenon appeared at the JP Morgan H&Q Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, where is presented information on its ongoing R&D activities, business agreements and future plans. Last May, Xenon entered a major collaboration with Warner-Lambert, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pfizer. The multifaceted deal provides Xenon with $90 million in up-front payments, research funding, equity purchase commitments and milestone payments in exchange for worldwide rights to develop and commercialize intellectual property relating to treatments for low levels of HDL-cholesterol resulting from the collaboration….