Putney Vet

Portland, Maine—October 3, 2011— Putney, Inc., a rapidly growing pet pharmaceutical company focused on the development and sale of generic prescription medicines for pets, closed a $21 million Series C financing round. Proceeds will be used for product development, establishing sales and marketing capabilities, and addressing additional operational and working capital needs.

Financing was co-led by Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. (NYSE: SFE) and NewSpring Capital, both of which have strong track records in identifying and partnering with successful growth-stage pharmaceutical companies.

Bruce Downey, partner in NewSpring Health Capital II, and James A. Datin, Executive Vice President and Managing Director of the Life Sciences Group at Safeguard will join Putney’s Board of Directors to provide operational guidance and strategic expertise. Downey is notable for his track record at Barr Pharmaceuticals, a human generics company. As president and CEO of Barr, Downey led annual revenue growth from $60 million to over $2.5 billion and the company became the fourth largest global generic drug company. In December 2008, Barr was acquired by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd. for approximately $9 billion. “We’re impressed by Putney’s momentum, robust pipeline of products, and visionary leadership. I’m confident that our partnership with Putney will help the company to become the industry leader in the pet generics sector,” says Downey.

Datin brings more than twenty five years’ experience in venture investments, buyouts, mergers and acquisitions, IPOs, licensing and partnership agreements in specialty pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, and healthcare services. “Putney is an exciting addition to Safeguard’s portfolio of growth-stage partner companies. Addressing a significant economic issue in veterinary treatment of companion animals, Putney is unmatched in its strategy to overcome barriers to entry and bring a broad pipeline of veterinary generic drugs through the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine. We look forward to working with NewSpring to help build significant value in Putney and help revolutionize the way companion pets are treated,” says Datin.

Jean Hoffman, founder, president and CEO of Putney, says that both Safeguard and NewSpring bring a network of industry contacts, financial expertise and operational experience to the table. “Our new partners join our existing, dedicated group of investors in recognizing the value of Putney’s pipeline of veterinary generic drugs and the talent of our core management team. This round of funding provides us with the capital we need to hire additional management talent, ramp up our product acquisition and licensing programs, and transform Putney into a stronger R&D and commercial organization,” says Hoffman.  “I look forward to working closely with our new Board members and the high caliber teams at both Safeguard and NewSpring to realize our aggressive growth targets.”

Hoffman believes that pet owners are ready and waiting for generic pet medicines, and are eager for the economic savings they’ve enjoyed with human generic medicines. In a recent report by the Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA), human generic medicines have saved consumers $931 billion in the last decade and $157 billion in savings in 2010 alone—an average savings of $3 billion a week. Currently, most FDA-approved pet medicines have no generic available. Hoffman expects rapid adoption of Putney’s new products by veterinarians and pet owners as they are launched.

Putney was represented exclusively by First Analysis Securities Corporation.