Paul Allen's Vulcan Capital to Invest in Omeros Biotechnology Drug Program

Omeros Corp. rose in Nasdaq trading after Vulcan Capital, billionaire Paul Allen’s investment group, invested $20 million in the Seattle biotechnology company that is developing drugs to treat inflammatory and nervous-system disorders.

Omeros will also receive a $5 million grant from the state of Washington’s Life Sciences Discovery Fund, according to a company statement today. Vulcan and the life sciences fund will receive a percentage “in the mid-teens” from any sales generated by the drugs, as well as stock warrants, according to the statement. Omeros gained 93 cents, or 13 percent, to $8.23 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading.

The funds from Vulcan and Washington state will support Omeros’s research to identify promising compounds that home in on a class of common drug targets known as G protein-coupled receptors, or GPCRs. Omeros’s most-advanced experimental drugs are designed to treat inflammation during surgery, according to the Omeros website.

“Omeros’s GPCR platform has the potential to accelerate new pipeline development across a broad range of highly attractive drug targets and can make a significant impact,” Steve Hall, Vulcan Capital’s managing director, said in the statement.

To contact the reporter on this story: David Olmos in San Francisco at dolmos@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reg Gale at Rgale5@bloomberg.net