Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Merrimack Pharma finds $60M for F fund round

By Mass High Tech Staff

Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Cambridge reports it has raised $60 million in a sixth round of private equity financing.

The biotech company said it plans to use the fresh capital to develop its pipeline of biologic drugs for autoimmune diseases, including its lead molecule, MM-093, which is in a Phase 2 clinical trial for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

The Series F round of funding came from Credit Suisse First Boston Next Fund Inc., Crocker Ventures, HNI Holdings Ltd., Noonday Asset Management LP funds, TPG-Axon Capital and WT Investment Advisors LP, according to Merrimack.

Merrimack has now raised $203 million in private capital, and its last funding was a $65 million round announced in April 2006. The private firm says its biologic drug discovery technology, invented by scientists from MIT and Harvard University, rapidly identifies proteins to improve validation.