Firm received $95 million in senior debt from GE Healthcare Financial Services and the rest through the private placement of Series D equity.

EKR Therapeutics reports that it has raised $145 million. The company completed the private placement of $50 million of Series D equity and secured $95 million in senior debt.


The equity funding round was led by new investors MPM Capital and LLR Partners. Also participating were prior backers Quaker BioVentures and the Garden State Life Sciences Venture Fund as well as original institutional investors NewSpring Capital and ESP Equity Partners.


GE Healthcare Financial Services provided the senior secured credit facility. The $95 million total cash flow facility involved a $15 million revolver and $80 million Term Loan A financing.


EKR will use the debt financing to complete the $85 million purchase of PDL BioPharma’s cardiovascular assets. The remaining financing will be used for working capital and to pursue additional compound acquisitions.


The transaction with PDL has already broadened EKR’s portfolio. The firm gained the Cardene® franchise of antihypertensive therapy and Retavase® a drug for the management of acute myocardial infarction. Other product offerings from EKR include an injectable morphine acquired in August 2007 and an oral mucositis treatment acquired in June 2006.


“Through the application of our acquisition strategy, we have greatly enriched our product mix in the past few months and correspondingly our 2008 revenue base has been expanded by a factor of about 10,” points out Howard Weisman, chairman and CEO. “Moreover, even if we exclude the potential for other product acquisitions in 2008, we foresee significant opportunities for organic growth off this larger base. To this end, we plan to build upon and leverage the strengths of our field force to drive overall sales and maximize the synergies expected for our enlarged product portfolio.”

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