Transport Pharmaceuticals Secures $27 Million in Venture Financing to Continue Development of Unique Drug Delivery Platform

Framingham, MA and Philadelphia, PA - Transport Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has closed a $27 million financing round to fund clinical development and commercialization of its proprietary iontophoretic drug delivery platform. Carlyle Venture Partners, the North American venture capital arm of The Carlyle Group, and Quaker BioVentures, Inc. co-led the Series D round. Existing investors, including investors affiliated with The Hillman Company, and new investor EGS HealthCare Capital Partners also participated in the financing.

Transport's lead product is a novel therapy for herpes labialis, or cold sores. The company's technology delivers acyclovir, an approved treatment for cold sores, directly to impacted skin at concentrations up to 40 times higher than topical formulations. The product has demonstrated significant reductions in healing time in two placebo-controlled, Phase II studies involving more than 300 patients.

In conjunction with the financing, Transport has expanded its existing management agreement with Nexus Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical management company that provides core management of business operations and clinical development. Dennis I. Goldberg, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Nexus, will also serve as President and Chief Operating Officer of Transport. Charles G. Hadley, Managing Director of Rock Hill Ventures will continue as Transport's Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer.

"Transport has made impressive progress in demonstrating the clinical potential of its product for treating oral herpes, a highly prevalent disease that currently lacks good treatment options," said Ryan Schwarz, a Principal at Carlyle Venture Partners. "In addition to a substantial market opportunity in treating herpes labialis, conservatively estimated at $400 million, Transport has the potential to expand its platform to address multiple additional dermatologic indications," added Richard Kollender, a Principal at Quaker BioVentures.

Cold sores are most often caused by the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1). It has been estimated that as many as 80 percent of the general population is infected with HSV1, causing recurrent cold sore outbreaks in approximately 15 to 20 percent of those infected.

"To date, we have refined our delivery device, demonstrated proof of concept in two Phase II trials and defined our regulatory pathway with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration," said Dr. Goldberg. "This financing will allow us to advance our development strategy with the initiation of pivotal trials, which are anticipated to begin in 2005."

# # #