ANN ARBOR – Cerenis Therapeutics SA, a biotech company with dual headquarters in Ann Arbor and France, has secured $51.7 million in venture capital to continue developing its cholesterol therapy technologies, executives said Sunday night, the biggest Michigan venture investment in nearly four years.

The transaction is the biggest venture capital deal for a Michigan technology company since Cerenis raised $53.5 million in November 2006. The company also announced tonight that it had received 10.7 million euros ($13.8 million) from a French governmental organization to fund a drug manufacturing partnership with a firm called Groupe Novasep, Ann Arbor Business Review reported.

The additional financing will support clinical development of several therapies that would improve the body?s production of so-called ?good? HDL cholesterol, which helps the body eliminate harmful lipids and plaque that can cause diseases.

The company?s most advanced therapy, a drug called CER-001, would treat acute coronary syndrome and is expected to start a Phase 2 clinical trial later this year. That’s the second step in a three-stage validation process required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Cerenis has about 12 employees in Ann Arbor, including its chief scientific officer and chief operating officer and several former Pfizer employees.

For its latest round of venture capital, the Fund for Strategic Investment provided 20 million euros. The other 20 million came from Ann Arbor-based EDF Ventures, Sofinnova Partners, HealthCap, Alta Partners and TVM Capital, OrbiMed, DAIWA Corporate Investment.

The company also announced that it is adding Jean-Pierre Garnier, former CEO of United Kingdom pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, to its Board of Directors as a representative of FSI.

The venture capital deal is one of Michigan?s biggest over the last decade. In 2009, venture capitalists invested about $130.6 million in 19 Michigan companies, according to the Michigan Venture Capital Association. Life sciences companies received $58 million of that financing.

Prior to this deal, venture capitalists had invested about $76 million in Michigan companies of all types in 2010, MVCA Executive Director LeAnn Auer said.

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