Rocky Hill, Conn., July 28, 2008 – Connecticut Innovations (CI), the state’s quasi-public authority responsible for technology investing and innovation development, today announced that it has made an investment of $1.5 million in Cara Therapeutics Inc. (Cara) of Shelton, Conn. CI’s investment is part of a $12.3 million extension of the Series C round also involving Devon Park Bioventures and Ascent Biomedical Ventures – an extension that brings the total Series C round size to $36.3 million. This is the second time that CI has provided funding to the biotechnology company. Last year CI was instrumental in moving Cara from Tarrytown, New York, to Connecticut by providing a $4 million bioscience facilities loan to help the company build out its new laboratory and office space in Shelton.
Derek Chalmers, Cara Therapeutics’ president and chief executive officer, stated, “We are very pleased to welcome CI to our investor base and to further benefit from CI’s ongoing commitment to bioscience funding in Connecticut. This important financing provides the company with the necessary capital to move forward with multiple patient trials of our most advanced clinical compounds in the coming year.”
Cara is a biotechnology company focused on developing novel therapeutics to treat pain and inflammation associated with human diseases. Two of Cara’s proprietary compounds, CR665 and CR845, have entered clinical testing for the treatment of acute postoperative pain and chronic pain, respectively. Additionally, Cara has several other compounds with near-term clinical development potential as well as proprietary technologies for developing first-in-class novel therapeutics – including its drug screening technology, DimerScreen™. Cara has built an extensive patent portfolio of 43 patents issued and 42 pending.
Peter Longo, CI president and executive director, said, “We are excited by the potential of Cara’s innovative discoveries and approaches to create a new generation of analgesic and anti-inflammatory compounds. Their products will ultimately benefit the millions who suffer from pain, serving a $21.5 billion market for pain management pharmaceuticals in the U.S. alone.”
“Cara has been making great strides in Connecticut since its arrival here less than one year ago,” remarked Governor M. Jodi Rell. “The company has been a wonderful addition to our state’s burgeoning bioscience community and to Connecticut Innovations’ growing life science portfolio – which now includes 14 outstanding early-stage ventures. With Connecticut Innovations’ latest funding, Cara should be well-positioned not only to create new, high-paying job opportunities for our citizens but also to improve our quality of life.”
About Connecticut Innovations, Inc.
Connecticut Innovations (CI) is a quasi-public organization dedicated to driving a vibrant, entrepreneurial, technology-based economy in Connecticut. CI stimulates high-tech growth by investing in: early-stage Connecticut technology companies; university/industry research collaborations; technology transfer; and clean energy initiatives through the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund. CI also fosters collaboration among government, business, nonprofit and academic organizations to advance technology growth and promotes public policies consistent with CI’s mission. For more information on CI, please visit www.ctinnovations.com.
About Cara Therapeutics Inc.
Cara Therapeutics is a privately held biotechnology company focused on developing novel, superior therapeutics to treat pain and inflammation associated with diverse medical conditions. Cara's current pipeline includes near-term clinical drug candidates within multiple classes of peripherally-acting analgesics. Cara also plans to develop entirely novel classes of analgesics that emerge from its proprietary GPCR DimerScreen™ technology. For more information, please visit www.caratherapeutics.com.
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