Embera NeuroTherapeutics, Inc. Closes Series A Funding, Starting FDA Trial Process

Shreveport, LA (PRWEB) February 8, 2007

Embera NeuroTherapeutics, Inc., a start-up company developing novel treatments for a broad range of addictions, as well as other neuropsychiatric disorders, has secured over $800,000 of Series A financing that will help the company move its novel combinational drug into Phase 1b FDA trials.

Embera NeuroTherapeutics http://www.emberaneuro.com is based on technology discovered by Dr. Nicholas Goeders at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences System in Shreveport.

Co-lead investors with Louisiana Ventures, LP are Louisiana Fund 1 (Baton Rouge, LA).

Embera NeuroTherapeutics, Inc. is dedicated to freeing minds from diseases such as addiction, depression, anxiety disorders and related diseases. While initially targeting cocaine addiction, the company is developing novel treatments for a broad range of addictions, including nicotine, methamphetamine ("crystal meth") and alcohol addiction, as well as other neuropsychiatric disorders.

Board member and President Marie A. Lindner, M.D. said, "By targeting the specific brain functions associated with stress, Embera stands as one of the first companies to provide possible preventive as well as therapeutic treatments for drug and alcohol abuse, as well as treatments for a host of other mental illnesses."

"Like most scientific breakthroughs, this technology came from years of research," said Ross P. Barrett, managing partner of Louisiana Ventures, LP. "Standing on the strength of 20 years of research from Dr. Goeders, coupled with the capitalization and seasoned, life-science focused Board of Directors we have compiled, the company is now poised for the Phase 1b FDA trials."

Addictive drugs directly activate the Hypothalamo-Pituitary-Adrenal axis (HPA) and the sympathetic nervous system. The activation of the HPA axis leads to biological changes such as an increase in heart rate and other signs of stimulation. Other psychiatric disorders have also been shown to either stimulate the HPA axis, or may otherwise alter the normal function of the HPA axis.

While most other medicines designed to treat drug and alcohol addictions typically only target the limbic system of the brain, Embera's approach targets the prefrontal cortex, which is a higher cognitive center than the limbic system. Embera's lead therapeutic patent-pending drug, EMB 001, developed by Dr. Goeders, is a novel composition of two off-patent, FDA-approved drugs with a long history of use and an established safety profile.

Embera will use the Series A funding to perform clinical trials and research to support additional indications.

"Louisiana Fund I has followed the development of this technology at LSU Health Sciences Center for several years and we are very excited about the potential of a breakthrough in addiction treatment that could come from this technology," said Joseph F. Lovett, managing general partner of Louisiana Fund I. "We are delighted to have Embera located in Shreveport. Also, we are looking forward to working with board members Dr. Marie Lindner and Dr. Franz F. Hefti who are highly experienced at operational execution in the biomedical area."

As part of the financing, Joe Lovett and Dr. Franz Hefti joined the Embera board of directors.

Louisiana Ventures, LP is one of two investment funds managed by VCE Capital Partners LLC (http://www.vcecapital.com), a Southeast U.S.-based venture capital firm that provides equity capital to early- and expansion-stage companies with proprietary technology platforms or unique products addressing large markets.

The Louisiana Fund I (http://www.louisianafund.com) is an early-stage venture capital fund focused on the identification of investment opportunities emanating from research universities and other organizations in the state of Louisiana. LFI targets companies developing commercially promising technologies with an emphasis on those originating in Louisiana universities, Louisiana companies and companies relocating to Louisiana. Areas of interest include pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, agritechnology, information technology and other high technology opportunities that offer venture capital returns.

Dr. Franz F. Hefti, Director. Dr. Hefti was senior vice president of Neuroscience Research at Merck & Co. for eight years where he coordinated the company's neuroscience research worldwide, serving as site head for the their neuroscience research centers in the U.K. and San Diego. During his tenure there, compounds covering ten different drug targets in the neuroscience area were taken into development. Prior to Merck & Co., Dr. Hefti was director of the Neuroscience Research Department at Genentech for three years. Prior to Genentech, he spent ten years in academia as a professor at the University of Southern California and associate professor at the University of Miami. He published over 200 papers on neurotrophic factors and topics in neuropharmacology, as well as a textbook on the drug discovery for nervous system diseases. Dr. Hefti received his Ph.D. from the University of Zurich and did his postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry in Munich.

Dr Marie A. Lindner, President; Director. Dr. Lindner is a founder of the Company. Dr. Lindner was appointed Senior Vice President of Medical and Business Affairs at Isolagen, Inc. in July 2005. Prior to joining Isolagen, Dr. Lindner served as Vice President of Strategic Development at BTG International, where she was responsible for acquisitions, developments and licensing of medical devices and other life science products, including a wound debridement product. Dr. Lindner spent 1991-1998 at Rhône-Poulenc Rorer (RPR) (now Sanofi-Aventis) where she held a number of executive positions of escalating responsibility from Assistant Director of Clinical Development to Executive Director, Business Development and Licensing. During her time at RPR, Dr. Lindner spent four years at Gencell, RPR's gene and cell therapy division. Dr. Lindner joined SmithKlineBeechan (now Glaxo SmithKline) where she was Global Director of Business Development. Later she joined Elan, where she was Vice President of Medical Market Strategy in the Drug Delivery division.

Contacts

Embera NeuroTherapeutics, Inc.

attn: Dr. Marie Lindner, (318) 213-0198

Louisiana Fund I, LP

Joseph F. Lovett, 225-615-8905

Board Member, Embera NeuroTherapeutics, Inc.

Louisiana Ventures, LP

Ross P. Barrett, 318-746-8430

Chairman, Embera NeuroTherapeutics, Inc.

Forward Looking Statement Disclaimer

The statements contained in this release and its website and the various presentations included in this website that are not historical facts are "forward looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements are made subject to certain risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those presented in these forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only to the date such data was posted to the website. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the posting of this data to the website.

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