$70 million raised by Xcel Pharmaceuticals

The newly-formed drugs company Xcel Pharmaceuticals says it has raised$70 million to fund the acquisition of products to market in the USA and its ongoing operations, noting that the financing was led by Domain Partners and New Enterprise Associates. Initially, Xcel plans to focus on what it terms "the highly-concentrated neurology market" where a relatively small number of physicians write the majority of the prescriptions. The US market for neurological treatments was worth approximately $4 billion in 2000, an increase of 21% over 1999.

Michael Borer, Xcel's chief executive, said that the new entity has "a top-notch management team, a focus in a niche therapeutic market and a strong capital structure." The firm has already assembled a field force of 85.