Although 2009 is certainly a year to forget - Unquote

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early-stage
Early-stage transactions include start-up/seed and early-stage equity investments. Start-up/seed financing is provided to companies for use
in product development and initial marketing. Companies may be in the process of being set up or may have been in business for a short
time, but have not sold their product commercially. Early-stage financing allows companies which have completed the product development
stage and require further funds to initiate commercial manufacturing and sales. They may not yet be generating any revenues.
EdRIP et al. invest 16m in Poxel
Transaction
Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners (EdRIP), CDC Entreprises and Crédit Agricole Private
Equity have provided drugs developer Poxel with a 16m series-A round of financing.
EdRIP contributed 8m to the round via its Biodiscovery 3 FCPR, Partenariat & Innovation 2 FCPI
and Partenariat & Innovation 3 FCPI funds. CDC invested 5m via the InnoBio fund, a vehicle it is
managing on behalf of the state-backed Fonds Stratégique d’Investissement.
EARLY-STAGE
Poxel
16m
Location Lyon
Sector Biotechnology
Founded 2009
Staff 7
The remaining 3m was provided by Crédit Agricole PE. This transaction is the largest French series-A
round of funding since 2005.
Poxel will use the new funds to accelerate the development and clinical testing of its most advanced
product, Imeglimine, designed to treat type-2 diabetes.
Company
Poxel span out from Merck Serono in 2009. It develops anti-diabetic molecules, focusing particularly on
treatment for type-2 diabetes. Poxel’s pipeline consists of innovative products with original mechanism
of action, with an improved safety profile compared to currently available therapies. Based in Lyon,
Poxel currently employs seven people.
People
Raphael Wisniewski led the deal for EdRIP. CDC was represented by Thibaut Roulon. Bruno Montanari
handled the transaction for Crédit Agricole. Wisniewski and Montanari will join Poxel’s board, along
with Olivier Martinez from the InnoBio fund. Thomas Kuhn is CEO of Poxel.
Advisers
Equity – Orsay, Frédéric Lerner, Louis d’Urzo (Legal); HBC Avocats, Jonathan Burnham (Legal);
Adwelsen, Florent Béliard (Financial due diligence); Régimbeau, Isabelle Mendelsohn (Intellectual
property due diligence).
Company – Bignon Lebray, Guy de Foresta (Legal); Bionest (Other due diligence).
Sofinnova et al. back McPhy with 13.7m
Transaction
Sofinnova Partners, Gimv and Amundi Private Equity have backed McPhy Energy with a 13.7m
second round of funding, alongside historic investors.
The company had already raised a 1.6m first round of financing in January 2009 from Emertec and
Areva. The new funds will be used for the global expansion of McPhy and the further industrialisation
and commercialisation of its products. Already present in Spain and Italy, the company also plans to
expand into Germany, northern Europe, the Middle East and Japan.
EARLY-STAGE
McPhy Energy
13.7m
Location La Motte-Fanjas
Sector Renewable
energy
equipment
Founded 2008
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