December 14, 2001

Pharmion secures $65 million

BOULDER — Pharmion Corp., a global specialty pharmaceutical company based in Boulder, has raised $65 million in mezzanine financing. Nomura International’s Private Equity Group, based in London, led the round. The company’s first round investors — Domain, Versant Ventures, Aberdare Ventures, Abingworth Management and Pharmion management ? also invested in this round.

The money will be used to register and the launch its first two products, 5-Azacitidine and thalidomide. Both show promise in the treatment of life-threatening diseases.

Pharmion recently signed agreements with Celgene Corp. for exclusive licenses to its intellectual property covering thalidomide. Pharmion plans to file for regulatory approval for the treatment of refractory multiple myeloma and for erythema nodosum leprosum in Europe and Australia in 2002, followed by additional international markets. Celgene has retained the rights for the drug in North America, China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.

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In June 2001, Pharmion acquired from Pharmacia Corp. the global rights to develop and commercialize 5-Azacitidine, a drug that has been studied for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Myelodysplastic syndromes are bone marrow disorders characterized by the production of abnormally functioning blood cells. As a result, patients with MDS have a high incidence of mortality due to bleeding, infection, and development of acute leukemia. Cody extends contract with LAEC LONGMONT ? John Cody has signed a three-year contract to continue as president and chief executive of the Longmont Area Economic Council.

Cody has held the position since early 1999. Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Andy Graziano of Amgen Inc. in Longmont and Craig Ockers, chief executive officer of the First National Bank Holding Co. in Longmont, are replacing Joan Campbell of Amgen and Bill Kaewart of Stored Energy Systems on the council’s board of directors.

NaPro licenses rights to cancer drugBOULDER — NaPro BioTherapeutics has licensed patents from U.S. drug giant Bristol-Myers Squibb that would allow the Boulder-based biotech firm to sell an injectable form of the cancer drug paclitaxel.

NaPro said it licensed the patents on a non-exclusive basis from NewYork-based Bristol-Myers, which sells paclitaxel under the brand name Taxol. NaPro said it must first receive marketing approval from U.S. regulators before it could market its form of the drug.

If marketing approval is granted, NaPro said it would have the right under the agreement to sublicense the paclitaxel patents to its distributor, Abbott Laboratories of Abbott Park, Ill.

Bristol-Myers lost its U.S. marketing exclusivity late last year on Taxol, ushering in competition from makers of less expensive copycat medicines.McData listed in S&P MidCap 400BROOMFIELD ? McData Corp., a provider of open storage networking solutions based in Broomfield, is now included in the Standard & Poor’s MidCap 400 Index. Specifically, McData will be added to the S&P MidCap 400 Global Industry Classification Standard, Networking Equipment sub-industry group and the computers industry group. McData replaced Newport News Shipbuilding in the S&P MidCap 400 Index.

Linda Dellett, vice president of investor relations for McData said in a press release that the listing would increase McData’s visibility and availability to a broader array of investors. ?This in turn should provide greater stability to McData’s stock over the long term,? she said.

PlanetCAD rejects unsolicited offer BOULDER ? PlanetCAD Inc. (AMEX:PCD), which makes engineering software for large manufacturing customers and their supply chains, has turned down an unsolicited offer from PCD Investments LLC.

Boulder-based PlanetCAD’s board of directors rejected an offer of 24 cents per share on the company’s outstanding shares from Eric Weissmann and Gary M. Jacobs, owners of PCD Investments and Colorado residents.

Jim Bracking, president and chief executive of PlanetCAD, said the offer was below PlanetCAD’s book value as of Sept. 30, of approximately $7.3 million. Bracking said the board decided that pursing PlanetCAD’s current business plan is in the best interests of its stockholders.Warrior Solutions aids platoon leadersBOULDER ? Palm handheld computers loaded with Platoon Personnel Leader software from Boulder-based Warrior Solutions, are being used by military leaders to track platoon logistics and monitor information on each soldier in their troop.

The software can store blood types, important dates and physical-training test scores. It also includes a navigation system, checklists and memory aids for routine field operations and training scenarios.

Platoon leaders can enter information into their Palm handhelds and send it to their personal computers.Level 3 strikes deals with McLeod, AOL

BROOMFIELD ? Broomfield-based Level 3 Communications Inc., a builder of fiber-optic networking systems, has agreed to acquire McLeodUSA Inc.’s wholesale dial-up access business assets, formerly Splitrock Services, for $55 million in cash consideration. The acquisition will enable Level 3 to provide dial-up Internet access service in all 50 states.

Level 3 also has entered into multi-year agreements with America Online Inc., the country’s largest Internet service provider. AOL will purchase Level 3’s (3)Link Global Wavelength and (3)Center Colocation services in North America. AOL will also purchase (3)Link Private Line services connecting North America to several cities in Europe.

BOULDER — Pharmion Corp., a global specialty pharmaceutical company based in Boulder, has raised $65 million in mezzanine financing. Nomura International’s Private Equity Group, based in London, led the round. The company’s first round investors — Domain, Versant Ventures, Aberdare Ventures, Abingworth Management and Pharmion management ? also invested in this round.

The money will be used to register and the launch its first two products, 5-Azacitidine and thalidomide. Both show promise in the treatment of life-threatening diseases.

Pharmion recently signed agreements with Celgene Corp. for exclusive licenses to its intellectual property covering thalidomide. Pharmion plans to file for regulatory approval…

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