6/11/12- St. Louis Arch Angels Make $175,000 Investment in Euclises Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

St. Louis, Mo., June 11, 2012… The St. Louis Arch Angels Network, which works to provide seed and early-stage capital to local entrepreneurs, today announced an investment of $175,000 in Euclises Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which operates out of the CORTEX science district in Midtown.

Euclises, which was founded in 2011, is creating a non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory proprietary cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor that reduces the cardiovascular risk that typically results from increased blood pressure with use of similar drugs on the market, like Celebrex. This new dual-activity inhibitor offers treatment for non-small cell lung cancer, which currently has a poor prognosis, along with other types of cancers. This type of inhibitor also will allow for an increase in dosing options for pain and inflammation and enable expansion of treatment to other diseases.

Euclises has engaged key members of the original Celebrex development team to prepare the integrated product development plan. John Talley, Ph.D., is the co-inventor of Celebrex and seven other drugs that have reached the market, and is one of the co-founders of Euclises. The other co-founders include Randy Weiss, Ph.D., MBA, who has experience starting and managing several pharmaceutical companies; Robert Karr, M.D., who has broad experience in the drug discovery and development process, and Eduardo Martinez, Ph.D., who has extensive experience starting small chemistry-driven companies and directing drug discovery projects.

“The St. Louis Arch Angels Network invested in Euclises because we are impressed with the management team and in particular with Dr. Talley, who has an incredible record of getting drugs developed and through the regulatory process,” said Bob Calcaterra, President of the St. Louis Arch Angels. “We also are impressed by the drug candidate he has identified, which we believe represents a multi-billion dollar market, and has a good chance of succeeding.”

Euclises will use the support received from the Arch Angels to help fund the next stages of its drug candidate development.

“The investment received from the Arch Angels will allow us to prepare and evaluate drug candidates, enhance our intellectual property estate and define a product development plan,” said Randy Weiss, president of Euclises. “We are also working to establish a scientific advisory board of key opinion leaders in clinical oncology, which will help enable us to raise the next round of financing from venture capital firms.”

With this support from the Arch Angels investors, Euclises will join a group of several other biotech startup companies that have already seen great success with the help of the Arch Angels. A sampling of these companies include CardiaLen, which has developed a pain-free therapy to treat tachyarrhythmias; medical device company EndoStim, which is developing a treatment for severe Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD); Pulse Therapeutics, which is developing a medical device that will significantly increase the efficacy of clot-dissolving drugs for emergency room-based treatment of ischemic stroke, and Veniti, a medical device company focused on the management and treatment of venous disease.

The $175,000 investment comes on the heels of a record year for the Arch Angels, in which the group of local business leaders invested nearly $3 million in 11 local early-stage companies.

For more information about the St. Louis Arch Angels, visit www.stlouisarchangels.com or call 314-444-1151. To learn more about Euclises Pharmaceuticals, Inc. call 314-604-2850 or send an email to rweiss@euclises.com.

The St. Louis Arch Angels Network was established in January 2005 as an independent, 501c(6) not-for-profit corporation. Arch Angel members provide seed and early-stage capital in the range of $250K-$1M, an investment range not generally served by venture capitalists. The St. Louis Arch Angels Network has invested more than $27 million in 31 companies.

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For more information, contact: 

Pamela Powell, The Hauser Group, 314.436.9090

Chris Walsh, St. Louis Arch Angels, 314.444.1151