REDWOOD CITY, California, May 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Coherus BioSciences, Inc. ("Coherus"), a leading biologics platform company focused on biosimilars, announced today the closing of a Series C Preferred investment round raising $55 million. New investors KKR & Co. L.P. ("KKR"), Venrock, RA Capital Management, Rock Springs Capital and Fidelity Biosciences joined existing investors Sofinnova Ventures, Lilly Ventures and Vivo Capital in the transaction.
"We are very pleased to have the confidence and financial support of such an extraordinary group of health care investors," said Denny Lanfear, President and CEO of Coherus. "Since its founding four years ago, Coherus has made excellent progress on its goals of moving biosimilar biologics into Phase 3 trials and onto the market. The capital resources provided by our investors will allow us to prosecute our development plans, optimize our partnering strategies and deliver essential therapeutics to patients faster."
As part of the transaction, Ali Satvat, Director on KKR's health care investing team, will join the Board of Directors of Coherus. "We are excited to support Denny and his experienced team on their growth initiatives to transform the biologics market," said Mr. Satvat. "We believe that the Coherus platform is well-positioned to succeed given its product pipeline and strong scientific and technical capabilities."
Since its inception, Coherus has raised over $220 million from equity and non-dilutive licensing fees and milestones.
About Coherus BioSciences, Inc.
Coherus is a leading biologics platform company focused on delivering high-quality biosimilar therapeutics that will expand patient access to life-changing medications worldwide. Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area and founded by a group of biotech pioneers who helped build America's first generation biotherapeutics industry, Coherus has developed a collaborative business model that leverages a strategic consortium of service providers aligned through ownership and shared incentives. Coherus' global commercialization partnerships include top-tier biopharma companies in Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
Biosimilars are intended for use in place of existing, branded biologics to treat a range of chronic and often life-threatening diseases, with the potential to reduce costs and expand patient access. For additional information, please visit www.coherus.com.
Contact – Beth Jimison – bjimison@coherus.com +1-650-649-3526
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120507/SF01448LOGO
