French 'good' cholesterol firm raises $52m

Cerenis Therapeutics, a French biotechnology company developing new drugs to boost "good" HDL cholesterol, has raised €40m ($52m) in new venture funding and appointed former GlaxoSmithKline CEO Jean-Pierre Garnier to its board. Half the new money came from the government-backed Fund for Strategic Investment, with further funding from existing investors Sofinnova Partners, HealthCap, Alta Partners and TVM Capital, EDF Ventures, OrbiJuly 26 (Reuters) - uMed and DAIWA Corporate Investment. Cerenis said on Monday the financing would help fund Phase II clinical development of its lead experimental compound CER-001. In total, the company has raised to date €107m. Cerenis has operations in Toulouse, France, and Ann Arbor, in the United States.