Neos Therapeutics is planning to make controlled-release ADHD medicines in liquid and dissolving tablet form, so they’re easier for children to take and last throughout the day.
The Grand Prairie, Texas, company just rounded up $15.5 million, according to a SEC filing. The company said in a statement that participating investors included Burrill Life Sciences Capital Fund III, CMEA Capital and Delaware Street Capital.
The new funds will support work toward FDA approval of its three ADHD products, as well as development support for additional projects.
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Behind those products is its proprietary controlled-release oral disintegrating tablets and liquids. Chief Technology Officer Mark Tengler described to Xconomy that controlled release over time is crucial for ADHD drugs because they can’t be dispensed at a school nurse’s office, so they must be given to children at home. And although some drugs are effective at this, they can be hard for young children to swallow in tablet form, he said.
ADHD is thought to affect as many as 7.5 percent of school-aged children.
Neos’ products apply that technology to FDA-approved active pharmaceutical ingredients that are already being used to treat ADHD, it said in the statement.
In the meantime, the company has also commercialized a generic, extended-release version of Tussionex, a medication for cough and upper respiratory symptoms.
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