Company name: Elcelyx Therapeutics.
Industry: Pharmaceuticals.
Location: San Diego, California.
Solution/product: Lovidia is a dietary supplement that helps in weight loss; NewMet treats type 2 diabetes.
Money raised: $4 million of a $7 million extension round; filings show it has raised $20 million to date.
How it will be used: To fund clinical trials of Lovidia and NewMet.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Investors: Morganthaler Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufiled & Byers, Technology Partners.
Management team: Dr. Alain Baron, president and CEO; Martin Brown, chief business officer; Mark Fineman, vice president of R&D; Mark Wiggins, senior vice president, business development.
Market size: Market for antiobesity drugs to reach $3.1 billion by 2016; global type 2 diabetes therapeutics market will be $45.1 billion by 2020.
Competitors: Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, GSK — diabetes; Vivus, Arena Pharmaceuticals — weight loss drugs.
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