Altea Therapeutics Closes a $17 Million Equity Financing and Appoints Eric Tomlinson as its Chief Executive Officer

Business Wire, Nov 21, 2002

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 21, 2002

Altea Therapeutics (formerly Altea Development Corp.) announced today that it has closed its Series B equity financing of $17 million.

The round was co-led by new investors Domain Associates and Venrock Associates, with vSpring Capital also participating. The Company plans to use these funds to develop its lead products, a basal insulin patch and an opiate-based analgesic patch, through phase II clinical trials. Altea Therapeutics will also continue to assess the use of its skin microporation technology for the controlled delivery of other therapeutic agents, including proteins, small molecules, and vaccines.

Concurrent with the financing, Altea Therapeutics announced today the appointment of Eric Tomlinson, DSc, PhD, as its Chief Executive Officer.

Dr. Tomlinson

Dr. Eric Tomlinson has broad experience in pharmaceutical and biotechnology drug delivery and development. He established and led the worldwide Advanced Drug Delivery Research Program for Ciba-Geigy Pharmaceuticals, and as Chief Executive Officer of GeneMedicine, Inc., he was responsible for its venture financings, initial and secondary public offerings, business partnerships and development of clinical products for the treatment of cancer, cardiovascular diseases and neuromuscular disorders. Dr. Tomlinson has published over two hundred scientific articles in drug delivery, gene therapy and solution thermodynamics.

"I am impressed by what Altea Therapeutics has achieved to date using the skin microporation technology, including the high quality of reproducible data in humans showing rapid sustained delivery of proteins," Dr. Tomlinson stated. "I am looking forward to leading the Company in its next phase of growth and in developing its extensive business opportunities."

Dr. Deborah A. Eppstein, who was the Company's founding Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We are very pleased to attract a leader with such a broad range of scientific and business experience as Dr. Tomlinson." Dr. Eppstein remains on the Board of Directors of Altea Therapeutics and becomes its President and Chief Business Officer, in which position she will continue to lead the Company's corporate partnering activities. "We are delighted to complete this financing with such prestigious investors," Dr. Eppstein commented. "These new funds will allow Altea Therapeutics to progress its technology and products in a timely manner."

Investors

"The ability to deliver large molecules without injection has been a long-sought capability. Altea Therapeutics is a particularly exciting company because its technology appears to achieve that goal," said Jesse Treu, a General Partner at Domain Associates.

"We are excited to be part of this stellar investment syndicate. Having worked with Deborah Eppstein and Altea Therapeutics for many years, we believe the Company has the potential to deliver significant returns to our fund," said Dinesh Patel, PhD, Managing Director, vSpring Capital.

About Altea Therapeutics

Altea Therapeutics has developed a proprietary noninvasive method to achieve the delivery of therapeutic proteins, conventional drugs and vaccines through the skin. The Company believes that use of its technology can provide a painless, convenient and effective method to deliver drugs and vaccines that previously have been limited to administration by injection.

The method rapidly and painlessly forms tiny openings or 'micropores' that are tens of microns in diameter, through the stratum corneum, the dead outer layer of the skin. No mechanical probes or skin puncturing devices are used. Therapeutic molecules of all sizes and physicochemical types are able to diffuse through these micropores for local action within the viable skin tissue or for systemic action after uptake by the circulatory system. The 'skin microporation' technology can be configured to achieve a variety of drug delivery profiles including: sustained, pulsatile, rapid and on-demand dosing.

The Company's lead products have the potential to become (i) the first non-injectable product to achieve sustained basal levels of insulin for treating individuals with Type 2 diabetes, and (ii) the first non-injectable product delivering rapid onset and sustained therapeutic levels of an opiate for treating severe pain. In addition, Altea Therapeutics has demonstrated the feasibility of using skin microporation to deliver other therapeutic agents, including the systemic delivery of interferon-alpha in human studies, and, in animal studies, the achievement of immune response to gene-based vaccines.

Altea Therapeutics intends both to engage corporate partners to co-develop and market, and in some instances co-promote, products that use its technology and also to develop and market its own proprietary products. Founded in 1998, the Company's corporate and research facilities of 25,000 square feet are located in the greater Atlanta area, with additional business offices in Europe (Stockholm) and Salt Lake City. The Company's proprietary position includes 12 issued patents (7 US), with numerous additional applications pending.