Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd., a privately-held, clinical stage biopharmaceutical company with a portfolio of innovative, late-stage product candidates targeting neurological diseases, including rare disorders, announced today that it has completed the second tranche of its previously disclosed $80 million private financing. Together with the proceeds raised under the first tranche, Biohaven has now raised over $100 million in private capital since its inception. The financing was led by Venrock and joined by other leading biotech investors including Vivo Capital, RA Capital Management, Aisling Capital, Rock Springs Capital, John W. Childs, Greg Bailey, Knoll Capital Management, Osage University Partners, Aperture Venture Partners, Connecticut Innovations, and Litmore Capital. All investors who participated in the first tranche also participated in the second tranche.

Effective as of the closing of the second tranche, Albert Cha, M.D., Ph.D. and Eric Aguiar, M.D. have been appointed as directors of Biohaven. Dr. Cha is a Managing Partner at Vivo Capital. He currently serves on the boards of directors of Ascendis Pharma A/S, Kalvista Pharmaceuticals, and several private companies. Dr. Cha received his medical degree from the University of California Los Angeles and his undergraduate and masters degrees from Stanford University. Dr. Aguiar is a partner at Aisling Capital and previously was a partner at Thomas, McNerney and Partners, a healthcare venture capital and growth equity fund. Dr. Aguiar currently serves on the board of directors of Invitae Corporation. Dr. Aguiar is a member of the Board of Overseers of the Tufts School of Medicine and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Dr. Aguiar received his medical degree with honors from Harvard Medical School. He graduated with honors from Cornell University as a College Scholar. He was also a Luce Fellow and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

"Albert and Eric bring significant clinical, financial, risk management and operational expertise to the Board and further enhance Biohaven's corporate governance capabilities. Their operational expertise and experience serving as directors of other biotechnology companies will be valuable to our growing business, and we are pleased to welcome them to Biohaven's Board of Directors," said Declan Doogan, M.D., Chairman of Biohaven's Board of Directors.

Also joining the Board as observers are Nimish Shah, MPH, MBA, Vice President at Venrock, and Peter Kolchinsky, Ph.D., Managing Director of RA Capital Management. In connection with the new director appointments, Kam Shah, Chief Financial Officer of Portage Biotech, Inc., has resigned from the Biohaven board but will continue to provide financial consulting services to Biohaven.

Vlad Coric, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Biohaven, commented, "With the closing of this financing, we have not only strengthened the company's financial position but also added key additional expertise to our Board of Directors. Albert and Eric each have a track record of helping other small biotech companies build value for their stakeholders. Additionally, we have the privilege of having Peter Kolchinsky from RA Capital and Nimish Shah from Venrock participating as board observers. We are indeed fortunate to have such a strong set of seasoned biotech entrepreneurs join our group of advisors to help us advance our late-stage clinical pipeline to patients."

About Biohaven 

Biohaven is a privately-held, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with a portfolio of innovative, late-stage product candidates targeting neurological diseases including rare disorders. Biohaven has licensed intellectual property from Yale University, Catalent, ALS Biopharma LLC, Massachusetts General Hospital and other prominent companies and institutions.