$210 financing for Intarcia's for diabetes product; and China's Innovent raises $25 million

California, USA-based Intarcia Therapeutics last week announced the simultaneous completion of two financings with total proceeds of $210 million, the largest sum to be raised by a private biotechnology company in at least 25 years, the firm noted.

The financings consisted of $160 million in proceeds from a preferred stock private placement and $50 million in proceeds from a private debt placement. Investors in these financings included existing investors New Enterprise Associates, New Leaf Venture Partners and Venrock, as well as new investors, The Baupost Group, Farallon Capital Management and three additional top-tier institutional investors based in Boston and New York.

As a result of these transactions, Intarcia has retained full strategic and financial control of its lead product candidate ITCA 650 (continuous subcutaneous delivery of exenatide), which, if approved, would be the first and only once-yearly, injection-free GLP-1 therapy for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Intarcia intends to initiate the global Phase III program for ITCA 650 in the first quarter of 2013 with its strategic partner Quintiles, a leading biopharmaceutical service provider, which has helped develop or commercialize 18 of the 20 best-selling diabetes products.