FeRx Raises $6.1 Million From Series CFinancing.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

BIOWIRE2K

SAN DIEGO--(BW HealthWire)--Oct. 23, 2000

FeRx Inc. today announced the completion of a Series C private round of financing, raising a total of $6.1 million for the company.

This round included existing

FeRx investors Brentwood Venture Capital, Whittier Ventures LLC, as well as new investors California Technology Venture Partners and several Canadian institutional investors arranged through Jennings Capital. FeRx, a drug delivery company focused on the development of its proprietary Magnetic Targeted Carriers (MTCs) technology, has raised $18 million to date, said Jacqueline Johnson, Ph.D., president and CEO of FeRx.

"The funds raised in this private round will enable us to expand our development efforts beyond doxorubicin and focus on the delivery of new and existing therapeutic compounds via our MTC platform technology to treat other solid tumor indications," Johnson added.

FeRx's MTCs are microparticles, composed of elemental iron and activated carbon, which serve as delivery vehicles for the site-specific targeting, retention and sustained release of pharmaceuticals. Using a small, externally positioned magnet to create a localized magnetic field within the body, arterially administered therapeutic agents that are absorbed to MTCs can be targeted to specific sites within the body. The physical force created by the magnetic field induces transport of the MTCs through the vascular wall, leading to localization and retention of particles at the desired site. FeRx's lead product, MTC-DOX, is currently in Phase I/II clinical trials for primary liver cancer. With MTC-DOX, doxorubicin, a widely used anti-cancer drug, is absorbed to the MTCs for delivery to the tumor site.

FeRx Inc. is a privately-held drug delivery company focused on the development and commercialization of its proprietary MTC technology. MTCs are under clinical investigation to determine their ability to meet two important goals for targeted drug delivery -- reducing drug toxicity created by nonspecific systemic exposure, while still achieving an efficacious concentration of drug at the desired site of action. Furthermore, MTCs are broadly applicable as carriers for a wide range of drugs, due to the absorptive properties of the activated carbon component. While FeRx is focusing on cancer therapy applications in its initial clinical trials, the MTC drug delivery technology will continue to be investigated for site specific delivery and sustained release of various classes of pharmaceutical agents in other therapeutic areas. For additional company background visit the FeRx Inc. Web site at: www.FeRx.com.