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PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania — Lipella Pharmaceuticals has big plans for the rest of the year, including raising its first venture funding and completing early clinical trials for its drug that treats two common bladder conditions.
The company’s name and technology are inspired by the same thing — liposomes, which are tiny bubbles made of fat that are capable of carrying drugs in the body. Lipella is “pioneering the localized use” of liposomes in the bladder, said Dr. Michael Chancellor, the company’s founder and chief science officer.
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Unlike most liposomes, which are delivered through the bloodstream, Lipella delivers its therapeutics via direct injection to the bladder through a catheter. That approach could cut side effects and is an easily reimbursable procedure to office-based physicians, the company says.
The company is looking to raise between $2 million and $5 million in a Series A round from venture investors by the end of the year, Chancellor said. It recently raised $216,000 from angel investors and company management, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Since its inception, the company has raised about $2 million through investments, foundations and government grants. It also picked up funding from economic development group Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse.
Lipella would use the funding to further development of its drug, which is initially being targeted toward two conditions: painful bladder syndrome, also known as interstitial cystitis, and overactive bladder, or urge incontinence.
The company plans two clinical trials this year, one in Taiwan for patients suffering from painful bladder syndrome that will be conducted by a colleague of Chancellor’s.
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The company has about 12 employees, though that’s a mixture of full-timers, part-timers and consultants. Chancellor is a part-timer, spending the rest of his time practicing with William Beaumont Hospital in Detroit.
