Thursday, November 13, 2008

MPM joins in $21M private placement for ARYx

By Mass High Tech Staff

Boston-based venture capital firm MPM Capital is one of several investors buying $21.6 million of shares from a West Coast biopharmaceutical company.

The company, Fremont, Calif.-based ARYx Therapeutics Inc., announced on Tuesday the sale of 9.65 million shares of common stock to MPM Capital and other investors. The company also said it would issue warrants for the purchase of 2.89 million shares of common stock with an exercise price of $2.64 per share and with a term of five years from the closing date. ARYx expects to consummate the transaction once all the agreed-upon conditions are met, it claimed.

MPM Capital, which already has a stake in ARYx, was one of three investors involved in this private placement. Pacific Growth Equities LLC, which has offices in Boston and San Francisco, was the agent for the private placement.

ARYx focuses on developing technologies with an eye to eliminating the safety issues connected with existing commercially successful drugs.  The company relies on its RetroMetabolic Drug Design technology to maintain the potency of its drugs but allows them to be metabolized more safely. ARYx has four products in clinical trials, including ATI-5923, an oral anticoagulant for patients prone to forming blood clots.

MPM Capital has more than $2.5 billion in managed capital through its MPM BioVentures and MPM BioEquities funds. The firm leans towards funding biotechnology, biopharmaceuticals, specialty pharmaceuticals and medical device companies.