A biotechnology company developing a long-acting drug and insulin to treat hyperglycemia in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and a treatment for hypertension has raised $25 million in a series B financing round.
The investment for the Malvern, Pennsylvania-based PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals came from established investors that include Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation, Hatteras Venture Partners and Fletcher Spaght Ventures. It will support phase 2b testing for Glymera, a recombinant glucagon-like peptide to treat hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes. It will also complete a phase 1/2a clinical study of Insumera, a long-acting insulin to treat hyperglycemia associated with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The new capital will also be used to commence phase 1 testing for its hypertension drug Vasomera.
“We want to be positioned at phase 3 to partner with a large pharmaceutical company. If the IPO markets were there like they were 10 years ago, that would be one option, but with private equity with our business model we’ll use the funding for these three programs,” Christopher Prior, PhaseBio CEO, told MedCity News
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Prior added that the results of its long-acting drug for hyperglycemia were so compelling it wants to compare it with the current gold standard treatment in the upcoming phase 2b clinical trial. Victoza is a once-daily treatment produced by Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, which has its U.S. headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey.
Its lead drug, Glymera, is a long-acting drug injected subcutaneously. Because it is absorbed slowly in the body, it can drastically reduce or eliminate the effects of nausea that similar drugs in the class have, Prior said. He added that the drug’s technology means it is cost effective to manufacture, and with a lower price tag it could be more likely to be reimbursed by payers.
“We believe we can achieve round-the-clock, 24/7 glycemic control,” Prior said.
