FRANCE - Abingworth et al. sell Fovea in EUR 370m deal

Francois
01 October 2009

Tweet
Facebook
LinkedIn
Google plus
Send to

A syndicate of investors including UK-based venture investor Abingworth has exited its investment in Fovea pharmaceuticals, a specialist in ocular disease treatment, through a sale to strategic buyer Sanofi-aventis for EUR 370m.

The deal will be financed with an upfront initial consideration followed by milestone payments related to Fovea's product development pipeline.

Fovea, founded in 2005, is a research and development biopharmaceutical company focusing on diseases at the back of the eye. The company has three products in clinical development designed to treat conjunctivitis, retinal vein occlusion and diabetic macular oedema respectively.

The company had previously received EUR 20.5m in funding from Sofinnova Partners, Abingworth Management, The Wellcome Trust, GIMV and Credit Agricole Private Equity in a 2005 first round of financing. This was followed by a second institutonal investment of EUR 30m in 2007, provided by the same investors and new lead investor Forbion.