A specialty pharmaceutical company has secured $15 million in venture debt backing for its topical gel drug to treat the early stages of mycosis fungoides, a type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
The investment will go toward operational expenses and commercializing the drug, for which a new drug application (NDA) has been submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval.
The mechlorethamine gel received orphan drug status form European regulators last month, a designation given to drugs for rare diseases that can exempt the company from certain expenses and reduce the cost of research and development.
When Investment Rhymes with Canada
Canada has a proud history of achievement in the areas of science and technology, and the field of biomanufacturing and life sciences is no exception.
Ceptaris Pharmaceuticals in Malvern, Pennsylvania has received $7.5 million and will be given access to another $7.5 million if the NDA gets approved by U.S. regulators.
Its primary venture capital investors are Osage Ventures, Aperture Venture Partners, BioAdvance, Vivo Ventures, Palo Alto Investors and Burrill & Co.
“We are very pleased with our venture debt relationships with both SVB and Oxford, and the additional capital it provides Ceptaris for pre- and post-launch activities,” said Stephen Tullman, president and CEO at Ceptaris.
Cutaneous T-cell lymphomas account for about 2 percent to 3 percent of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma cases. The most common form of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma is mycosis fungoides, a slow-growing cancer that starts on the skin.
