Revance Therapeutics raises $25 million
Revance Therapeutics Inc. raised $25.62 million in venture funding, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Newark business, started a decade ago, seeks drugs useful in skin treatments and so-called “aesthetic medicine.” It’s been studying a type of botulinum toxin in a gel “for the treatment of crow’s feet wrinkles.” Executives at Revance — its CEO is Daniel Browne — hope that this treatment, RT001, will be less painful than injected Botox treatments now on the market and will appeal to more people.
Over the summer, Revance licensed another botulinum toxin product to Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. (NYSE: MRX) of Scottsdale, Ariz., getting $10 million up front and possible milestone payments in 2010 or later of up to $94 million. Medicis, which sells the dermal filler product Restylane, is an investor in Revance, too.
In this latest venture deal, Revance issued $5.7 million worth of special series D stock in exchange for principal and interest it owed on convertible notes.
In the past, Revance has raised venture capital from Singapore’s Bio*One Capital, Medicis, Essex Woodlands Healthcare Ventures, Vivo Ventures, Technology Partners, San Diego’s Shepherd Ventures and Palo Alto Investors.
Robert Byrnes, former CEO of wrinkle-treatment business Thermage Inc., sits on Revance’s board of directors.
CEO Browne started Revance with Jacob Waugh, M.D., who is chief scientific officer.
According to its web site, Revance is hiring in a variety of laboratory and maintenance type jobs.
