City Biz List - November 11, 2009

5AM Ventures Portfolio Co. Flexion Therapeutics Raises $20M of $43.4M Offering
City Biz List

WOBURN -- Biotechnology firm Flexion Therapeutics Inc. has raised $20.04 million of a $43.39 million equity offering, according to a Reg D filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The transaction includes an exchange of outstanding shares of common or preferred stock of Flexion Therapeutics AG by holders for an equal number of shares of common or preferred stock of Flexion Therapeutics Inc.

Principals named in the filing are: Michael Clayman, executive officer and director; executive officer Neil Bodick; and directors Bradley Bolzon, Rafaele Tordjman and Samuel Colella.

Woburn-based Flexion was incorporated in 2007 and is funded by 5AM Ventures and Versant Ventures. With offices in Waltham, 5AM Ventures is a seed and early-stage venture capital firm focused on building next-generation life science companies, and has more than $200 million under management. Versant is headquartered in California.

Flexion advances drug candidates through clinical proof of concept and, if worthy, commercialization.

Reg D filing: http://tinyurl.com/ykzknrr

Bios from Flexion's Web site:

Mike Clayman, MD Chief Executive Officer

Mike brings over 20 years of experience in pharmaceutical development. Most recently, he was Vice President, Lilly Research Laboratories and General Manager of Chorus, Lilly's development accelerator.

During a long career at Lilly, Mike led major components of Lilly Research Laboratories including Global Regulatory Affairs (where he managed seven global submissions), Cardiovascular Discovery Research and Clinical Investigation, Product Development and Technology at Advanced Cardiovascular Systems (a subsidiary of Eli Lilly), the Internal Medicine Division, and the Lilly Clinic (Eli Lilly's dedicated Phase I unit). He also served as Chair of Lilly's Bioethics Committee.

Mike received a BA, cum laude, from Yale University, and MD from the University of California-San Diego School of Medicine. Following internship and residency in internal medicine at the UC San Francisco Moffitt Hospitals, he completed clinical and research fellowships in nephrology at the University of Pennsylvania. He was appointed Assistant Professor in the School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and is a recipient of the Physician Scientist Award from the National Institutes of Health.

Neil Bodick, MD PhD Chief Operating Officer

Neil has over 15 years experience in pharmaceutical development and was the founder of Chorus, Lilly's early-phase development accelerator, where he served as both Chief Operating Officer and Chief Medical Officer.

Within Chorus, he was also responsible for the de novo development of innovative information systems to support both internal operations and external networks. Previously at Lilly Research Laboratories, Neil led the early phase medical organization, where he was responsible for clinical investigation across five therapeutic areas. He entered Lilly as a Research Physician in Neuroscience Discovery and Development.

Neil received an AB from Cornell University, PhD in Neuroscience from Columbia University, MD from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and an MBA from the Wharton School. Following internship in Neuropathology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Neil was appointed Assistant Professor in the School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania; he is a recipient of the Biomedical Research Service Award and the New Investigator Research Award from the National Institutes of Health.

Brad Bolzon, PhD Chairman of the Board

Brad brings more than thirteen years of global pharmaceutical industry experience to Versant's biotech investment team and to Flexion's management team. At Versant, he specializes in early-stage biotech investing with emphasis on new company start-ups; he has created three successful companies in partnership with large pharmaceutical firms.

Prior to joining Versant, Brad served as Executive Vice President, Global Head of Business Development, Licensing & Alliances with Roche. Before joining Roche, Brad held a series of management positions at Eli Lilly and Company in regulatory affairs, clinical research and business development.

He currently serves as a board member for Amira Pharmaceuticals, Antipodean Pharmaceuticals, Sentient Pharmaceuticals, Metabolex, Speedel and as Chairman of the Board of Synosia Therapeutics. He is also Chairman of EuroVentures Inc, a wholly-owned start-up incubator within Versant Ventures.

Brad received PhD and MS degrees in Pharmacology from the University of Toronto and conducted his post-doctoral research training at the Ottawa Heart Institute in Ottawa, Canada.

Sam Colella, MBA Board Member

A highly respected venture capitalist recognized for his leadership in life sciences investing, Sam Colella co-founded Versant Ventures with six other managing directors in 1999. Over the course of his career, Mr. Colella has acquired more than 20 years of successful operating experience in the high technology industry and more than 25 years of investing experience in the healthcare sector.

Prior to founding Versant, Mr. Colella managed one of the first life science-focused investing groups in the industry as a general partner with Institutional Venture Partners (IVP). Previously, he was president of a New York Stock Exchange company and held a variety of functional positions in a broad array of diverse businesses, including president of Spectra-Physics, the world's leading laser supplier, and senior manager of the Technical Products Division of Corning Glass.

Having managed investments concentrated in medical devices, biotechnology and health care technology companies, Mr. Colella is credited with an extensive list of successful public life science companies, including Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Argonaut Technologies, Arthrocare, Athena Neurosciences, Aviron, CV Therapeutics, Endosonics, Genomic Health Inc., IVAC Holdings, Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Pharmacopeia, Symyx Technologies, Thermage, Tularik and Vivus. He is currently a director of Alavita, Alexza Pharmaceuticals, 5AM, Genomic Health Inc., and Jazz Pharmaceuticals, and he is Chairman of Fluidigm.

Mr. Colella's professional affiliations include terms of service as an officer in the National Venture Capital Association, the Western Association of Venture Capitalists, American Entrepreneurs for Economic Growth and Chairman of the Stanford Council on Interdisciplinary Biosciences. Mr. Colella has a BS degree in Business and Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and an MBA degree from Stanford University.