Flexion Therapeutics raises $33 million in Series A financing

Massachusetts, USA-based Flexion Therapeutics has successfully completed a Series A financing round totaling $33 million. The funds will be used to advance a number of promising drug candidates through clinically meaningful proof of concept and beyond. The financing was led by Versant Ventures and included founding investors 5AM Ventures and Sofinnova Partners.

Flexion was established in 2007 by Mike Clayman and Neil Bodick, the founders
of Chorus, US drug major Eli Lilly's in-house, proof-of-concept drug unit. The Flexion team said it has evolved the model it first established at Chorus in 2002 and will focus on advancing high-value specialty products to market.

'We're delighted to have raised significant funds from top-tier investors, especially in this very tough financial climate,' said Mr Clayman, chief executive of Flexion.

Brad Bolzon, managing director at Versant Ventures added: 'The clinical team at Flexion has developed a unique capability to assess the potential of a given drug candidate as efficiently as possible. We look forward to applying this approach toward building a strong product portfolio and a valuable company.'

'It normally takes about four years and up to $40 million to reach clinical proof-of-concept,' continued Rafaele Tordjman, a partner with Sofinnova. 'Flexion can reach that all important milestone in about half the time and an eighth of the cost. That is an outstanding achievement and a paradigm shift in terms of productivity for the pharmaceutical industry,' he added.

The Flexion team has taken multiple drugs through Phase III to market, including seven global submissions for Lilly. The company soon expects to announce deals with three major pharmaceutical companies.