Strengthened by State Resources and Private Capital, V ClinBio Poised for Breakout Year
CEO Touts State’s Talent Pool and Business Environment as Critical to Company’s Growth
Under the direction of its President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Oliver, V ClinBio develops a robust pipeline of new medicines addressing unmet medical needs across diverse therapeutic areas.
TRENTON, N.J. (February 22, 2018) – In recent months, biopharmaceutical company V ClinBio has taken several steps to make 2018 a banner year for its development and for the creation of new drugs for millions of patients that suffer from multiple sclerosis, ulcerative colitis, and psoriasis. These actions, under the new leadership of President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and veteran New Jersey pharmaceutical executive Bob Oliver, include expanding the company’s footprint in the Garden State with the opening of a new office in Mercer County, executing a strategic acquisition, and obtaining critical funding through New Jersey’s Angel Investor Tax Credit Program.
V ClinBio entered 2018 with funds raised from 10 investments approved last year under the Angel Investor Tax Credit Program. Administered by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) and the New Jersey Division of Taxation, the Program offers a 10 percent refundable tax credit against New Jersey corporation business or gross income tax for qualified investments in an emerging technology business with a physical presence in New Jersey and that conducts research, manufacturing, or technology commercialization in the state.
The funding will help V ClinBio further its mission to develop a robust pipeline of new medicines addressing unmet medical needs across diverse therapeutic areas including neurology, inflammation and metabolic diseases. Scientists at V ClinBio take the core ingredients of already-existing drugs and combine them in new ways to make new therapies that both increase their efficacy and reduce potential side effects for patients.
“Through resources like the Angel Investor Tax Credit Program, the EDA provides growing technology and biotechnology companies like V ClinBio with resources that help them to attract private investors and receive the funding they need to continue developing life-saving and life-enhancing therapeutics,” EDA CEO Tim Sullivan said.
The EDA approved 256 Angel Investor Tax Credit applications in 2017, representing the injection of a total of $111 million of private capital into 39 different technology and life sciences companies throughout the Garden State. Since the program began in 2013, the EDA has approved 929 applications for investments in 65 New Jersey-based technology businesses totaling more than $332 million.
As a former executive at pharmaceutical giants Johnson & Johnson, Wyeth (now Pfizer) and Otsuka, Oliver, who took the helm at V ClinBio in November, is familiar with New Jersey’s pharmaceutical landscape and its advantages for early-stage biopharmaceutical companies, such as its proximity to large pharmaceutical companies, its top-notch workforce and the many resources available to the life sciences community.
Oliver moved V ClinBio’s operations to Ewing last month, where it leased approximately 3,000 square feet of space. The company also maintains its presence at the Enterprise Development Center (EDC) at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in Newark, where it has grown over the past four years led by its founder Dr. Subbu Apparsundaram. While at the incubator, V ClinBio had access to NJIT resources, mentors and other programming.
Earlier this month, V ClinBio acquired a nearly 50 percent stake in Cellix Bio, an innovative drug design and development biopharmaceutical company. Through this acquisition, V ClinBio obtained Cellix Bio’s proprietary Synergix drug delivery platform, which unlocks the clinical and regulatory potential of existing therapies and offers biopharma companies the potential to shorten development times and reduce the risk of clinical failure. V ClinBio expects to file an Investigation New Drug Application later this year with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for CLX-106 and CLX-103 to treat relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis and ulcerative colitis respectively. Both CLX-106 and CLX-103 were generated by Synergix. V ClinBio plans to start human clinical trials on these drugs later this year.
@NJEDATech spoke with Oliver about V ClinBio’s experience in New Jersey and its plans for the future:
Why did you choose to grow your company in New Jersey?
New Jersey has an excellent talent pool and the business environment is conducive to innovation.
How have investments made through the Angel Investor Tax Credit Program benefitted V ClinBio?
The clear majority of investors have converted equity to shares in our company, rather than holding onto convertible notes, ensuring that they have a long-term, vested interest in V ClinBio.
What do you consider V ClinBio’s biggest success to date?
We are very proud of our accomplishments in advancing our lead compounds through the regulatory and clinical development process.
What is on the horizon for your company?
We look forward to continuing to create partnerships and commercializing our best-in-class medicines.
The EDA offers a multitude of resources to help technology grow and thrive. To learn about these resources, visit https://www.njeda.gov/tls and follow @NJEDATech on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
