SNAP's 'venture round'

Synaptic Pharmaceutical Corp.'s original strategy of discovering and licensing out G protein-coupled receptor-based targets to other companies fell out of favor with investors after several of SNAP's partners dumped their programs. SNAP has since revamped its strategy to focus more on internal drug development, and last week bought two additional years of time to prove itself. But the price was a funding round that more closely resembles a venture investment than a public equity deal.

SNAP, which announced its new drug development mission last September, signed up an investor syndicate led by Warburg Pincus to provide $41 million in two tranches of preferred stock (see BioCentury, Aug. 6). The company, which had about $20-$25 million in cash prior to the financing, now should have more than three years of cash, according to President and CEO Kathleen Mullinix...