Exithera Pharmaceuticals, a player in the anti-thrombosis and stroke prevention drug space, appears to be in the midst of a $9 million Series B round, according to regulatory filings. It has raised $3 million thus far, the filings said.
Last we heard, the Westborough, Massachusetts company raised $2 million of a $4 million Series A round in August 2012; president and CEO Neil Hayward told Mass High Tech that the funding came from Access BridgeGap Ventures, the now-defunct venture arm of Access Industries. Its major investor now – owning 65 percent of Exithera – is Israel investment group CBI, which is owned by Access Industries.
We’re sort of grasping at straws here until Hayward calls us back – but here’s a nice little precis of what the company’s up to, courtesy of CBI:
eXIthera Pharmaceuticals stroke prevention and antithrombosis drugs are based on the unique pathophysiological role of Factor XI in the initiation of intravascular thrombi without causing undue bleeding. Thrombosis prevention without bleeding has been demonstrated unequivocally in numerous animal studies. Most exciting is the dramatic reduction in the incidence of ischemic stroke in Factor XI deficient individuals. In addition, these patients present little or no bleeding liabilities in spite of their deficiency. eXIthera’s drug candidates are small, orally active, and highly selective Factor XI inhibitors. eXIthera believes that these drugs will be highly effective in stroke and thrombosis prevention without the bleeding liabilities of current anticoagulants.
