Portfolio Companies
"The team at Pappas is staffed with experienced and professional deal makers. Balancing the needs of all parties to start a new VC-backed company in today’s market is like threading a needle while riding a roller coaster; the team at Pappas made Afferent happen because of their commitment to the company, a balanced approach to the economics and straightforward transparent communication."
Nigel Sheail
Vice President, Global Head Licensing
F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.
News
VCs Find Gold Amid Big Pharma's Cast-Offs, See Success With Spin-Offs
Dow Jones VentureWire Lifescience
February 16, 2010
VCs Invest $23 Million in Roche Spinout Afferent Pharmaceuticals
Dow Jones VentureWire Lifescience
December 16, 2009
Roche Licenses First-in-Class Treatments for Chronic Pain to Afferent Pharmaceuticals
Afferent Pharmaceuticals Press Release
December 16, 2009
Palo Alto, CA
Afferent Pharmaceuticals, co-founded by Pappas Ventures in December 2009, is focused on developing first-in-class medicines to treat chronic pain. The company is targeting a novel biological pathway, centered on P2X3 receptors in peripheral nerves, where pain-causing stimuli are detected. A potential result of this approach is that Afferent’s drugs may not be as prone to central nervous system side effects as other pain-focused compounds. Moreover, the non-opiate mechanism of the company’s lead compound, AF-219, offers the potential to avoid the kind of dependence that limits the use of other pain medications.
We teamed up with Third Rock Ventures and Roche to create Afferent, and brought in two other previous syndicate partners, Domain Associates and New Leaf Venture Partners, to raise $23 million that will be used to initiate Phase 2 studies in several pain and pain-related indications in the first half of 2010. AF-219 is the product of breakthrough science that originated at Roche, with which our firm has worked closely for many years. Art Pappas will serve on the board of directors and Sean McCarthy will serve as an observer.