ConjuGon raises $1.9M for antibacterial drugs

ConjuGon Inc. has raised $1.9 million in equity to develop drugs that combat bacterial infections, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

The fundraise comes from three investors and is part of an offering that the company hopes will bring in $4.75 million.

Late last month, the Food and Drug Administration cleared ConjuGon’s Investigational New Drug application for a drug that prevents catheter-associated urinary tract infections. That paved the way for ConjuGon to begin Phase 1b clinical trials of the drug, called C-1205.

The company said it plans to begin enrolling patients in the study later this year.

Rosetta Partners, an Illinois venture firm that led a $3.3 million round for ConjuGon in 2006, is the company’s largest shareholder. Gary Greenwood, ConjuGon’s chairman and Rosetta’s founder, said ConjuGon’s strategy is to partner or sell drug candidates in its pipeline during Phase 2 trials.

In October, the company announced a $2.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to develop a wound-infection treatment.

ConjuGon’s lead product is based on the concept of bacterial interference, which involves one bacterial species interfering with another and preventing it from colonizing, and causing infection in a host.

ConjuGon COO Steve Watt didn’t immediately return a call.

Photo from flickr user stopnlook