MEDIA RELEASE PR39949
Quark Pharmaceuticals Closes $10 Million Financing
FREMONT, Calif., June 10 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
SBI Holdings, Inc. CEO Yoshitaka Kitao Appointed to Board
Funds to Support Advancing Clinical Pipeline
Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a world leader in the discovery and
development of RNAi-based therapeutics, today announced the closing of a
private financing by the existing investors of Quark totaling an aggregate of
$10 million. The investors are funds of the prestigious SBI Holdings Group in
Japan. In connection with the financing, Mr. Yoshitaka Kitao, CEO of SBI
Holdings, Inc. and Mr. Robert Takeuchi, Director of SBI Investment Co., Ltd.
will become members of the Quark board of directors.
Mr. Yoshitaka Kitao, CEO of SBI Holdings, Inc., commented, "We are
impressed with Quark's significant progress since our initial investment, and
we look forward to further supporting the Company and its rapidly growing
clinical programs. Since our previous investment in 2008, when Quark had a
promising preclinical-stage RNAi drug pipeline, the Company has brought five
clinical programs into the clinic and has more siRNA drug candidates in the
clinic than any other RNAi company."
Quark Pharmaceuticals will use the funds to advance its RNAi drug
pipeline, which has the largest number of clinical-stage siRNA therapeutic
programs in the industry. The Company's pipeline candidates are currently
being evaluated in five different clinical trials.
Dr. Daniel Zurr, Quark's Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We are pleased
to close our latest financing round and remain well-capitalized to advance
our promising siRNA drug candidates through the clinic. On behalf of our
board of directors, I would also like to welcome Mr. Kitao and Mr. Takeuchi
as our newest members. ."
About Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the world leader in novel RNAi discovery and
development, has the largest clinical-stage siRNA pipeline in the industry.
The Company's fully integrated drug development platform spans therapeutic
target identification to drug development. Quark's approach to delivery
allows targeting of tissues and organs including the eye, kidney, ear, lung,
spinal cord and brain.
Quark's pipeline is led by PF-04523655, currently in two Phase II
clinical trials for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration
(AMD) and diabetic macular edema (DME). The siRNA therapeutic candidate was
licensed to Pfizer in 2006 and both trials are being conducted by Pfizer in
collaboration with Quark. PF-04523655 targets Quark's proprietary gene,
RTP801, discovered using its BiFAR(TM) target discovery platform that
identifies clinically relevant critical genes and proteins that reverse the
disease phenotype when inhibited. The Company owns several families of
patents covering the RTP801 gene, its RNA and protein product sequences,
specific antibodies, and gene inhibition across different pathologies.
Quark's is also evaluating QPI-1002, the first systemically administered
siRNA drug in human clinical trials. Enrollment was successfully completed in
Phase I studies of QPI-1002 for the prevention of acute kidney injury (AKI)
following major cardiovascular surgery and the prophylaxis of delayed graft
function after kidney transplantation and Phase II clinical studies are
planned to commence shortly. For the structure of these products, Quark has
obtained licenses from Silence Therapeutics and from Alnylam Pharmaceuticals.
Quark is also conducting clinical trials of QPI-1007, its first
proprietary synthetic siRNA drug candidate, developed in collaboration with
BioSpring GmbH. QPI-1007 provides Quark freedom to operate in the siRNA IP
space, and utilizes a proprietary structure and modifications that preserve
RNAi activity while ameliorating potential off-target and immunostimulatory
effects of siRNAs.
Quark is also committed to leveraging a broad research pipeline of siRNA
drug candidates and novel siRNA structures to develop additional RNAi drug
candidates.
Quark is headquartered in Fremont, California and operates research and
development facilities in Boulder, Colorado and Ness-Ziona, Israel.
Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Juliana Friedman
+972 89 30 5111
jfriedman@quarkpharma.com
The Ruth Group (investors / media)
Sara Pellegrino / Janine McCargo
(646) 536-7002 / 7033
spellegrino@theruthgroup.com
jmccargo@theruthgroup.com
SOURCE: Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
CONTACT: Juliana Friedman of Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
+972-89-30-5111
jfriedman@quarkpharma.com
investors
Sara Pellegrino
+1-646-536-7002,
spellegrino@theruthgroup.com,
or media
Janine McCargo
+1-646-536-7033
jmccargo@theruthgroup.com
both of The Ruth Group for Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
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