CEDAR KNOLLS, N.J.--()--EKR Therapeutics, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on acquiring, commercializing, and maximizing the potential of proprietary acute-care products in the hospital setting, today announced that it successfully secured a credit facility with leading financial organizations.
“EKR’s successes to date and prospects for sustained long-term growth reflect the strengths and talents of our people”
This debt financing was led by Merrill Lynch Capital Healthcare Finance Group, a division of Merrill Lynch Business Financial Services Inc. who previously participated, as an investor, in EKR’s recent Series C funding round. Also taking part in today’s announced financing was SVB Silicon Valley Bank, the commercial banking arm of SVB Financial Group.
“I am very pleased by our capacity to access the capital markets,” said Richard DeSimone, EKR’s co-founder and CFO. “This credit facility, plus the cash EKR already had on hand, places us on a firm financial footing,” said DeSimone. “We have significantly enhanced our financial flexibility and are well positioned to support ongoing operations while also actively pursuing opportunities to accelerate our growth momentum through new product acquisitions.”
Howard Weisman, co-founder, Chairman and CEO of EKR, added, “Since EKR began operations in mid-year 2006, we have successfully aligned ourselves with high quality investors and lenders in support of our business model and goal of establishing EKR as the premiere provider of acute-care specialty products. Moreover, in this comparatively short time frame, EKR has met a number of key operating milestones, driving our rapid advance from a start-up firm to a commercial organization.”
In June 2006, EKR acquired North American rights to Gelclair®, a treatment for pain of oral lesions arising from chemotherapy and radiation induced oral mucositis. By the fourth quarter of last year the Company had recruited and deployed its own sales force, and in August 2007 the product portfolio was enriched with the addition of DepoDur®, a single epidural injection of morphine to provide up to 48 hours of pain relief following major surgery. Sine then, EKR more than doubled the size of its sales force to over 20 representatives, including recruiting several seasoned DepoDur field specialists - plus proven product manager - from Endo Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ENDP), the company that had held the U.S. license to this product prior to its acquisition by EKR.
“EKR’s successes to date and prospects for sustained long-term growth reflect the strengths and talents of our people,” noted Weisman. “Our team consists of industry professionals with exceptional knowledge of the acute-care market and many have actually collaborated before in successfully applying a business model similar to EKR’s strategy of acquiring under exploited products and maximizing their market potential. Thus, we have set high standards for ourselves, but feel confident about achieving our objective of pre-eminence in our market space.”
About EKR Therapeutics
EKR Therapeutics is a privately held specialty pharmaceutical company that has brought together a highly seasoned team of industry professionals The Company focuses on the acquisition, development and commercialization of proprietary products to enhance patient quality-of-life in the acute setting, including pain management and oncology supportive care. From its inception in late 2005, EKR has been organized to be a class leader in commercializing products to address unmet and under-satisfied medical needs or to otherwise enhance the therapeutic value of acute-care prescription products. EKR’s goal is to be the pre-eminent provider of acute-care specialty products, backed by a commitment to excellence in customer service and medical education programs. EKR has investment support from key life science financing firms, including ESP Equity Partners (www.espequity.com), NewSpring Capital (www.newspringventures.com) and Quaker BioVentures (www.quakerbio.com). For additional information about EKR visit the Company’s website at www.ekrtx.com. Full prescribing information for DepoDur and Gelclair are available, respectively, at www.depodur.com and www.gelclair.com.
About Merrill Lynch Capital
Merrill Lynch Capital, a division of Merrill Lynch Business Financial Services Inc., is a leading commercial finance business providing a broad range of structured financing solutions to middle market companies nationwide. Based in Chicago and with regional offices throughout the country, Merrill Lynch Capital is focused on four market segments: corporate finance, equipment finance, healthcare finance and real estate finance. The Healthcare Finance Group of Merrill Lynch Capital provides senior financing solutions for middle market healthcare companies, offering cash flow, asset, life sciences related and real estate based credit facilities and junior secured debt, and equity co-investments. Merrill Lynch Capital is an affiliate of Merrill Lynch Bank USA. For more information on Merrill Lynch Capital visit http://www.mlcapital.ml.com/
About SVB Silicon Valley Bank
SVB Silicon Valley Bank provides commercial banking services to emerging growth and mature companies in the technology, life science, private equity and premium wine industries. Through its focus on specialized markets and extensive knowledge of the people and business issues driving them, SVB Silicon Valley Bank provides a level of service and partnership that measurably impacts its clients' success. Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., the company serves clients around the world through 27 U.S. offices and three international operations. SVB Silicon Valley Bank is a member of global financial services firm SVB Financial Group, with SVB Analytics, SVB Capital, SVB Global and SVB Private Client Services. More information on the company can be found at www.svb.com.
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