Cancer drug developer ProNAi Therapeutics, which developed a nucleic acid-based DNA-interference technology to cause cancer cell death, has added nine new investors in an oversubscribed Series D round.
The latest fundraise will help support Phase 2 clinical trials for its recurrent non-Hodgkin lymphoma treatment, follicular lymphoma, Richter’s transformation and large B-cell lymphoma, according to a company statement.
It raised $60 million in a round led by Vivo Capital and other new investors including Frazier Healthcare Ventures, OrbiMed Advisors, Adams Street Partners, RA Capital Management, Caxton Alternative Management, Hopen Life Science Ventures, Sectoral Asset Management and Janus Capital Management. Some existing investors, including Capital Midwest Fund, Apjohn Ventures Fund, Amherst Fund and Grand Angels also participated in the financing round.
Behavioral Health, Interoperability and eConsent: Meeting the Demands of CMS Final Rule Compliance
In a webinar on April 16 at 1pm ET, Aneesh Chopra will moderate a discussion with executives from DocuSign, Velatura, and behavioral health providers on eConsent, health information exchange and compliance with the CMS Final Rule on interoperability.
Among the applications for its PNT2258 treatment are diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, Richter’s transformation, and follicular lymphoma. The funds will also support drug manufacturing, advance development of preclinical drug candidates and the company’s organization in Michigan, according to the statement.
About 70,800 people are diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma each year and that includes both adults and children, according to the American Cancer Society. About 18,990 people die from the disease annually.
Although response rates for immunochemotherapy treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma are more than 50 percent, most patients relapse and there’s currently no standard of care for these patients.
[Photo from Flickr user Ed Uthman]
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.
