By E. Janene Geiss
Philadelphia, May 16 - Viron Therapeutics Inc. said Tuesday that it raised $20 million in a series A financing round.
Canadian Medical Discoveries Fund was the lead investor. Other investors included new participants Amgen Ventures, BDC Venture Capital, GrowthWorks Capital and previous long time investors Novartis Pharma AG and Trudell Medical Ltd.
This financing, combined with the additional investment of $4.5 million Viron received from the Canadian government through its TPC program brings Viron's total financing to nearly $25 million.
The investment, which was oversubscribed, will finance company operations through the end of 2008, enabling the company to achieve a number of significant development milestones, including the completion of an ongoing phase 2 clinical trial, the advancement of additional therapeutic drug candidates into the clinic and optimization of its manufacturing process to further reduce cost of goods, officials said in a company news release.
Resources also will be allocated to the discovery process to ensure that Viron continues to exploit its sustainable platform by increasing the number of pipeline compounds beyond the current seven drug candidates.
"With our lead compound currently in phase 2 testing and some strong collaborations underway with our pipeline compounds in such critical diseases as IBD, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, we hope to be in a position to introduce some of the most potent anti-inflammatory compounds to the market in the next several years," Neil K. Warma, president and chief executive officer of Viron, said in the release.
Viron said it also is expanding its reach into the United States through a collaboration established with the University of Florida in Gainesville, which will become an important research and development hub for the company.
Viron said it is enrolling patients in its multi-centered, phase 2 trial with lead compound VT-111 in patients with Acute Coronary Syndromes that are undergoing intervention. Viron previously announced that VT-111 has been shown to be safe and well-tolerated in a phase 1 clinical trial in healthy volunteers completed in the United States. In numerous preclinical studies, VT-111 has demonstrated remarkable efficacy in both reducing and stabilizing atherosclerotic plaque.
Viron is a London, Ont., clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused upon the commercialization of novel anti-inflammatory therapeutics.
| Issuer: | Viron Therapeutics Inc.
|
| Issue: | Series A financing
|
| Amount: | $20 million
|
| Investors: | Canadian Medical Discoveries Fund (lead), Amgen Ventures, BDC Venture Capital, GrowthWorks Capital, Novartis Pharma AG, Trudell Medical Ltd.
|
| Closing date: | May 16
|
|
|
© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere.
For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.
