Kuwait fund leads NewBridge round

NewBridge Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) raised $12 million in the first close of a series B round led by Kuwait Life Sciences Co. (KLSC). Existing investor Burrill also participated. NewBridge in-licenses and commercializes FDA- and EMA-approved therapeutics, devices and diagnostics for the markets of Africa, Middle East, Turkey and Caspian regions. Last year, Axcan Pharma Inc. (Mont St. Hilaire, Quebec) granted NewBridge rights in those territories to Pylera, a single-capsule therapy containing biskalcitrate, metronidazole and tetracycline, to eradicate Helicobacter pylori. ...