SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Impact Biomedicines (“Impact”) today announced that it has achieved the first milestone in the Company’s previously disclosed $90 million financing with Oberland Capital, triggering the closing on the first tranche of $20 million. Impact also announced the expansion of its management team to include Randy Adams as Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations and Jeff Barker as Senior Vice President of Global Technical Operations.
“The first tranche of this financing follows a positive meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) bringing this much needed potential treatment option for myelofibrosis closer to patients in need,” said John Hood, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Impact Biomedicines. “With Oberland’s financial support, we have made some important investments to ensure that we are well-staffed and prepared for U.S. commercialization.”
The previously announced financing structure involves two milestone-based payments of $20 million each from Oberland Capital. In exchange for the payments, Oberland Capital will receive predefined fedratinib royalties. If fedratinib is approved by the FDA, Impact will be able to draw down an additional $35 to $50 million in predefined notes from Oberland Capital to support the launch and commercialization of fedratinib.
To support the next phase of bringing fedratinib closer to market, Impact has expanded its management team to include Randy Adams as Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations and Jeff Barker as Senior Vice President of Global Technical Operations.
“With thirty-five FTEs working on the fedratinib program the addition of leaders like Jeff and Randy, who have built organizations from scratch and successfully launched major commercial products, is crucial to Impact’s strategy. As we head into 2018 we will be rapidly transitioning from a start-up to a fully integrated commercial organization,” added Charlie McDermott, President and Chief Business Officer of Impact Biomedicines.
Randy has over 20 years of commercial experience in the specialty pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Previously, Mr. Adams was Executive Vice President and Partner at Carling Communications, where he was instrumental in building a global strategic consulting and medical communications agency and was strategic lead on multiple specialty product launches. Carling was acquired by the Fishawack Group of Companies in July 2017, creating one of the largest, independent medical communications agencies in the world. Prior to Carling Communications, Mr. Adams led North America Marketing for Zimmer’s oral surgery division. Prior to joining Zimmer, Mr. Adams served in roles of increasing responsibility at Allergan, including Director of Marketing, where he was responsible for leading a $1 billion dry eye portfolio and was instrumental in the launch and successful commercialization of RESTASIS®. Mr. Adams currently serves on the board for the American Eye Cancer Association. Mr. Adams earned his B.A. in Business Administration from Georgia College & State University.
Jeff Barker brings over 23 years of Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) development experience to the company. Prior to joining Impact, Mr. Barker served as the principle consultant for Strategic CMC Consulting LLC, where he supported two emerging oncology biotech companies in developing their NDA submissions. Prior to consulting, Mr. Barker served as the Vice President of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Trius Therapeutics where he was responsible for all CMC development including the development and commercialization of SIVEXTRO ®, an oxazolidinone-class antibiotic. Prior to his tenure at Trius, Mr. Barker held positions of increasing responsibility in CMC project leadership and regulatory affairs at Pfizer. Mr. Barker obtained a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Notre Dame.
About Impact Biomedicines
Impact Biomedicines is pioneering the development of life changing treatments for patients with complex cancers. The Company’s pipeline is centered around fedratinib, a potent and highly selective oral small molecule JAK2 kinase inhibitor that is being developed initially for the treatment of myelofibrosis (MF) and polycythemia vera (PV).
About Oberland Capital
Oberland Capital is an investment firm focused exclusively on the healthcare industry specializing in flexible, non-dilutive investment structures customized to meet the specific capital requirements and strategic objectives of transaction partners globally. The firm offers a broad suite of financing solutions including the monetization of royalty streams, acquisition of future product revenues, creation of project-based financing structures, and investment in debt and equity securities. The firm was founded by Jean-Pierre Naegeli and Andrew Rubinstein. For more information, please visit www.oberlandcapital.com.