Drug reformulation company Thar Pharmaceuticals has raised $4.3 million as part of a Series A investment round, according to a regulatory filing.
Thar is aiming for a more ambitious Series A of up to $9.6 million, CEO Ray Houck said. The funding comes in the form of equity and warrants, and was sourced from five investors, according to the document. The round was led by two unspecified angel investors, Houck said.
Including its latest funding, Thar has now raised $6.5 million since it began in 2008, according to Houck.
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The company will use the Series A to get it through Phase 2 trials of its lead product candidate, a cancer drug that Houck declined to provide any further details on.
The Pittsburgh-based company’s business model involves reformulating on-the-market intravenous (IV) drugs into drugs that can be administered orally. Focusing on drugs that have already been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration offers several advantages, primarily that it makes the drug development process much cheaper and less risky.
The company’s reformulated cancer drug “should have fewer side effects and save up to $3,900 per patient per year in IV administration costs,” according to its website. The company plans to begin a Phase 2 trial of the drug this year.
Houck declined to provide an estimate on when the company would submit a New Drug Application to federal regulators, approval of which is necessary to begin selling the drug in the U.S.
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The company is also working to develop drugs for pain, erectile dysfunction, anxiety and migraines.
Thar is looking for bigger, more capital-rich pharmaceutical companies to partner with to develop and commercialize its drugs.
Last year, Thar closed on $1.2 million, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Thar has eight employees, Houck said.
