Pitango leads Inotek in $25M financing round

Inotek Pharmaceuticals, a privately-held US drugmaker, is the subject of a $25.0 million round of financing which is being led by Israel's Pitango Venture Capital, according to the Globes Newsletter.

On the back of this move, Nissim Darvish, a partner in Pitango, has been appointed a director in the firm. "This is a promising company with seven interesting molecules, five of which are already undergoing various stages of clinical trials," Mr Darvish told the newsletter. He added that 40 of Inotek's 110 employees worked at its Israeli development center, which is responsible for all of its clinical studies. Mr Darvish said that the arrangement "expresses confidence about Israeli workers and facilities."

Historically, the Beverly, Massachusetts-headquartered drugmaker, which was founded in 1996, has pursued a unique funding strategy. During 1997-2004, it attracted non-dilutive funds totaling over $40.0 million through federal and private grants and contracts. In February 2004, the firm raised an additional $20.0 million of private equity in a series A financing to fund its emerging clinical development programs, led by Care Capital, Rho Ventures and MedImmune Ventures. Concurrent with this financing, Jerry Karabelas, partner at Care Capital, assumed the role of chairman of the board of directors.