Kereos Inc. has raised $5.6 million in equity to further develop cancer and cardiovascular-disease drugs and imaging agents, according to a regulatory filing.
The company has four products in development–an MRI agent for tumor detection, a targeted chemotherapy for solid tumors, an MRI agent to detect cardiovascular disease, and an anti-restenotic, according to its website. (Restenosis happens when a patient’s coronary arteries re-narrow after an angioplasty.)
However, it’s questionable whether the information on the company’s website is still accurate, and whether the company has fallen on hard times–the latest funding notwithstanding. (Or maybe the company simply prefers to stay out of the public eye at this point.)
Kereos hasn’t issued a press release since 2006 and lists in its “upcoming events” section a conference from April 2008. Chief Operating Officer Phillip Buckler didn’t return a call, nor did Greg Johnson, a venture capitalist connected to the firm. The site doesn’t list a CEO.
It’s unclear how much capital Kereos has raised in its lifespan, but it pulled in a $20 million Series B round in 2005. That round was led by Prolog Ventures, Triathlon Medical Ventures, Charter Life Sciences and RiverVest Venture Partners. At the time, the company said the funding would advance its lead product candidate–the tumor-destroying chemotherapy–through Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials.
Once up a time, at least, things looked promising for Kereos. It was cited in 2004 as one of the industry’s top emerging biotechnology companies by Fierce Biotech. But, for whatever reason, things seem to have stalled since then. Maybe the new funding will help reverse the apparent slide.
The new fund-raise was sourced from 13 investors, and the first sale occurred on April 23. About $1 million of the amount was cash, with the rest obtained through the conversion of “the outstanding principal and interest of certain convertible notes into equity,” according to the filing.
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.
The company was founded in 1999. Kereos licensed its technology from Washington University in St. Louis.
In 2009, Kereos’ technology was the focus of a Wall Street Journal article. The article highlighted the use of an ingredient of bee venom called melittin to shrink or slow the growth of tumors in mice.
