Square 1 Bank Announces Credit Facility to Auspex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

SAN DIEGO, March 11, 2013-- Square 1 Bank, the premier banking partner to entrepreneurs and the venture capital community, today announced that it has provided a term loan to new client Auspex Pharmaceuticals, a San Diego-based clinical stage biotechnology company. Proceeds will be used to supplement working capital while entering Phase 3 clinical trials for its leading compound SD-809.

Located in La Jolla, CA, Auspex Pharmaceuticals is currently exploring the potential of certain compounds with deuterium to create superior therapeutics that will expand on many qualifying and already clinically validated drugs. Using these new advances in medicinal chemistry which allow less frequent dosings, Auspex hopes to minimize safety risks, drug-drug interactions, and development costs.

“We have been impressed with how Square 1 worked to meet the needs of both the company and its investors. We look forward to continuing on an exciting phase of development of deuterium-containing pharmaceutical products,” said Pratik Shah, executive chairman at Auspex and partner at Thomas, McNerney, & Partners, one of Auspex’s current investors.

“We are thrilled to have tailored this term loan for Auspex and become their new financial partner as they push towards FDA-approval,“ said Scott Foote, senior vice president and managing director of Square 1 Bank’s Life Sciences West division. “We think they show great promise in their market and they have a winning combination of strong management and supportive investors.”

About Square 1 Bank

Square 1 Bank is a full service commercial bank dedicated exclusively to serving the financial needs of the venture capital community and entrepreneurs in all stages of growth and expansion. Square 1's expertise, focus and strong capital base provide flexible resources and unmatched support to meet our clients’ needs. The bank offers tailored products and solutions aided by the latest in technological innovations. Square 1 has offices coast to coast in Austin, Boston, Denver, Durham, Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, Seattle, Silicon Valley and Washington, DC. For more information, visit www.square1bank.com.

About Auspex Pharmaceuticals

Founded in 2001, Auspex Pharmaceuticals is a privately-held venture-financed company that is developing compounds that integrate the unique properties of deuterium, a non-radioactive isotope of Hydrogen, into previously approved drugs to reduce dosage by increasing the half-life. SD-809, their leading compound, aims to improve on the treatment of hyperkinetic movement disorders such as Huntington’s disease with their deuterium-substituted analogue of tetrabenazine, a commonly used drug for such disorders.

Contact:
Square 1 Bank
Dee McDougal, 919-597-7479
dmcdougal@square1bank.com

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