Versartis: So Cutting Edge

Early Wednesday, Versartis said it had raised a $21 million B round and, at the same time, spun out its lead molecule, an extended-release version of the type-2 diabetes drug exenatide, into a new company. Dig a little deeper, and you'll find the deal encompasses two cutting-edge trends in biotech financing.

First, Index Ventures, the firm that backed Versartis' Series A in 2009, is also investing in the new company, Diartis. It would love to match what it did with PanGenetics: create companies around single molecules with a leaner, cleaner path to exit. With PanGenetics, Index successfully sold one compound but saw the second fail in 2010. Last year, Index funded Mind-NRG, essentially one person and one asset, with an initial tranche of €1.5 million. This asset-financing vision is one Index has embraced, with other VCs cautiously following, as more traditional venture strategies are buffeted by continuing financial pressures and rare exit opportunities.

Second, the carve-out of Diartis from Versartis creates a second investment for Amunix, the platform company behind each firm's extended-release technology. The technology is the pegylation-like XTEN, which Amunix co-founder Willem "Pim" Stemmer wants to apply to a whole host of proteins. He says the firm is focused on a list of "20 to 30," some already commercial like exenatide, some "fallen angels" that failed in the clinic, and some addressing new targets. The idea is to get them ready for clinic, then either sell them directly or create new, Versartis-like companies around them.

It's a platform-only model, once dismissed as unworkable by investors who didn't see enough value creation to build a viable exit. But it's gaining traction. As this blog first reported last month, yeast-based antibody company Adimab is licensing its technology to newcos that will do the drug-development dirty work. First up is Arsanis, in Vienna, Austria.

We have a lot more on the deal in the next Pink Sheet Daily, including more thoughts from Stemmer -- who's been named a recipient of the 2011 Draper Prize, the nation's most prestigious engineering award -- and Index partner Kevin Johnson -- no, not that Kevin Johnson! -- plus a comparison of the Diartis GLP-1 diabetes molecule to other next-generation diabetes treatments. -- Alex Lash and Chris Morrison

Photo courtesy of flickerer LollyKnit.