SAN DIEGO -- Kalypsys Inc. announced today that it has raised $100 million in a Series C financing. The company will use the proceeds to fund its broad range of preclinical and clinical programs in the areas of cardiovascular/metabolic diseases, pain/inflammation and oncology.

Tavistock Life Sciences, one of Kalypsys' previous investors, led the round with an $89 million contribution. Previous investors Sprout Group, CMEA Ventures and KT Venture Group participated in the round. The financing increases the total private equity that Kalypsys has raised to $172 million since February 2002.

"This is further validation of our early successes in changing the way drugs are discovered and developed," said John McKearn, Ph.D., Kalypsys' president and CEO. "With our expertise and technologies, we're able to move rapidly from idea to IND with high quality molecules. The financing will support our further progression of multiple programs."

Shehan Dissanayake, Ph.D., CEO of Tavistock Life Sciences, added, "The significant infusion of capital enables Kalypsys to advance its drug candidates through the development process without turning to the public markets at this time. Kalypsys' elegant approach to drug discovery will continue to yield very promising compounds for a range of indications. We want to ensure that the company is well-positioned to maximize the value of these assets at later stages."

Kalypsys' pipeline includes KD3010, a small molecule Peroxisome Proliferator-Activator Receptor Delta (PPAR Delta) agonist for the treatment of metabolic disorders. The company recently completed a combined single and multiple dose-escalation study that evaluated the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of KD3010 versus placebo in healthy volunteers. Kalypsys plans to follow this study with a 28-day safety trial of the drug in normal, healthy obese volunteers in early 2007.

"We combined two studies into one to establish a more complete safety profile of KD3010 that will guide our dose selection in the second trial," said Paul Grint, M.D., Kalypsys' chief medical officer. "The innovation in our trial design is another aspect of our approach to expediting the development of medicines. Our speed in the discovery stage carries over to the development stage, which can significantly reduce the costs associated with the traditional development of small molecule drugs."

Other compounds in the pipeline nearing the clinical stage include KD7040, a potent, topically administered inhibitor of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) for the treatment of neuropathic pain; and KD5170, an orally administered, first-in-class non-hydroxamate inhibitor of histone deacetylase (HDAC), for the treatment of hematologic and solid tumors.

About Kalypsys

Kalypsys is a San Diego-based clinical-stage pharmaceutical company that is changing the way drugs are discovered and developed. Unmatched from idea to clinical proof, Kalypsys seamlessly integrates its scientific expertise and technologies to develop small molecule drugs in a fast, efficient and effective manner. The company's discovery and clinical pipeline consists of drugs that target cardiovascular/metabolic diseases, pain/inflammation and oncology. In addition to focusing on its own products, Kalypsys partners with top-tier pharmaceutical companies to rapidly advance the identification, development and commercialization of new therapeutics. For more information, call 858.754.3300 or visit http://www.kalypsys.com/.