Latest News > Firm News

Great Point Partners Makes Growth Recapitalization Investment in Corrona

Introduction

GREENWICH, CT and SOUTHBOROUGH, MA — Great Point Partners, LLC, a Greenwich-based private investment firm focused on the health care industry, today announced a growth recapitalization investment in Corrona, Inc. (“Corrona”). Corrona is an observational registry founded in 2000 by Dr. Joel Kremer and is the leading provider of clinical real world data obtained prospectively from both physicians and patients at the time of a routine clinic visit. The Company has a very large and robust dataset for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, spondyloarthopathy and gout, and is branching out to other autoimmune and chronic diseases.

The equity investment will fund growth in the Company’s infrastructure in IT, epidemiology and biostatistical support, pharmacoeconomics, and enhanced project management capabilities and will also fund the Company’s expansion to other autoimmune and chronic diseases.

Dr. Joel Kremer, Founder and CMO of Corrona stated, “Through the partnership with Great Point Partners, Corrona will realize its full potential to lead the nation in reporting clinical results which make a difference to patients, physicians, and society. We are pleased and enormously flattered that GPP has chosen to invest in Corrona. Working together with GPP, Corrona will be able to explore and achieve its full potential to become a world leader in health care research and post-market approval drug surveillance for chronic diseases.”

“Corrona has grown rapidly with an impressive customer base because the Company is uniquely positioned with the most detailed and informative patient disease registries”, said David Kroin, Managing Director of Great Point Partners. “Corrona is uniquely positioned at the intersection of biopharmaceutical development and health care information technology with an emphasis on research and science, each of which is a core focus area for Great Point’s private equity efforts. This transaction will provide the Company with the growth capital and resources necessary to realize Dr. Joel Kremer’s vision of a fully integrated real world evidence company.”

“Great Point demonstrated their potential value to Corrona during our first meeting and stood out from other potential private equity partners,” added James Cavan, President and COO of Corrona. “The team was impressively knowledgeable about the business of clinical drug monitoring and research. Corrona will benefit from their new insights and experiences along with additional working capital to address our growth goals. As a result of this investment, our expected growth to new therapeutic areas and geographic representations will accelerate which will benefit our clinicians, subscribers, researchers and most importantly patients.”

As part of their investment, Great Point Managing Directors Dr. Jeffrey R. Jay and David Kroin, Principal Noah F. Rhodes, III and Senior Associate Stephen Weaver will join Corrona’s Board of Directors along with Kirk Grosel, Principal of Blockbuster Strategy and from Corrona, Dr. Joel Kremer, Jim Cavan, Dr. Jeffrey Greenberg and Robert Lento.

About Corrona

Corrona was founded in 2000 by leading rheumatologists dedicated to advancing and improving the care of patients with rheumatic and other chronic diseases. CORRONA’s mission is to advance medical research and improve the quality of patient care has expanded based upon the success of its research to include planned new therapeutic areas of dermatology, GI, SLE, and MS Corrona operates independent disease cohorts without any ownership links to the pharmaceutical industry. Learn more at www.corrona.org.

About Great Point Partners

Great Point Partners (“GPP”), founded in 2003 and based in Greenwich, CT, is a leading health care investment firm with approximately $750 million of equity capital under management and 26 professionals, investing in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe. GPP is currently making new private equity investments from GPP II, which has closed on $215 million in commitments. Great Point manages capital in private (GPP I, $156 million, and GPP II) and public (BMVF, approximately $370 million) equity funds. Great Point Partners has provided growth equity, growth recapitalization, and management buyout financing to more than 100 health care companies. Both the private and public funds invest across all sectors of the health care industry including biologics and pharmaceutical infrastructure, devices and diagnostics, health care services, hospital outsourcing, information technology, specialty pharmaceuticals, and workers compensation. The firm pursues a proactive and proprietary approach to sourcing investments.

This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Great Point Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.