Omeros Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing and commercializing products focused on inflammation and disorders of the central nervous system, announced that it received $20 million from Vulcan Capital and a grant award for $5 million from Washington State’s Life Sciences Discovery Fund (LSDF) to support the advancement of the company’s G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) program. In return, Vulcan Capital and LSDF have a right to receive a percentage of net proceeds generated by the GPCR program. Net proceeds include profits from specified partnership arrangements and product sales, net of all research, development and associated commercialization expenses. Additionally, Omeros issued to Vulcan three five-year warrants to purchase common stock, each for 133,333 shares, with exercise prices of $20, $30 and $40 per share, respectively.

“We are impressed with Omeros’ team and the technology that it has assembled for its GPCR platform. We believe Omeros’ GPCR platform has the potential to accelerate new pipeline development across a broad range of highly attractive drug targets and can make a significant impact on the pharmaceutical industry,” said Steve Hall, managing director of Vulcan Capital. “Omeros has already demonstrated the capability to identify compounds that interact with orphan GPCRs, providing the Company multiple opportunities to capitalize on its platform. Vulcan looks forward to participating in the program’s continued success.”

“Omeros’ GPCR program provides a unique opportunity to create new life sciences jobs within Washington State focused on improving health care,” said Lee Huntsman, Ph.D., executive director of LSDF. “Our state leadership is committed to the continued development of the life science sector within Washington, and we see Omeros and its GPCR program as an important contributor to that growth.”

Under the terms of the respective agreements with Vulcan and LSDF, Omeros has agreed to pay to Vulcan and LSDF a tiered percentage of net proceeds received by Omeros from its GPCR program. The percentage decreases as the cumulative net proceeds reach specified thresholds in the agreements. The blended percentage payable to Vulcan and LSDF in the aggregate is in the mid-teens with respect to the first approximately $1.5 billion of cumulative net proceeds received by Omeros from its GPCR program. After Omeros has received approximately $1.5 billion of cumulative net proceeds, the percentage of net proceeds payable to Vulcan and LSDF combined decreases to one percent.

“We appreciate the support of Paul Allen, Vulcan Capital and the Life Sciences Discovery Fund,” stated Gregory A. Demopulos, M.D., chairman and chief executive officer of Omeros. “This funding allows Omeros to accelerate efforts to screen all human orphan GPCRs in high throughput. We are pleased with our success rate to date and are eager to begin unlocking additional orphan GPCRs for drug development.”

Pursuant to the agreement with Vulcan Capital, Omeros has agreed to exercise its right to purchase from Patobios Limited assets related to a GPCR assay technology, comprised of patents and other intellectual property rights, for approximately $10.8 million Canadian dollars (CAD), of which approximately $7.8 million CAD is payable in cash and $3.0 million is payable in Omeros common stock. Following completion of the acquisition of these assets, Omeros will have no milestone, royalty or other payment obligations to Patobios. A portion of the proceeds from the Vulcan funding will be used for this acquisition.

Date: October 25, 2011
Source: Omeros www.omeros.com