Prosonix Extends Series B Financing Round to £17.1M
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Prosonix (Oxford, UK) has announced the second closing of its Series B equity financing round. In extending the financing round to £17.1M, the Company raised an additional £5.7M from new investor Gimv, a leading European technology investor, as well as from the syndicate of investors that participated in the first closing of the round in June 2011.
The syndicate includes Ventech (Paris, France), Gilde Healthcare Partners (Utrecht, Netherlands), Entrepreneurs Fund (London, UK), Quest for Growth (Leuven, Belgium) and Solon Ventures (London, UK).
Dr Karl Nägler, a Venture Capital Partner at Gimv, will also join the Prosonix board as a Non-executive Director.
The proceeds of the financing will be used to progress the Company’s emerging proprietary product pipeline of excipient-free, drug-only inhalable mono- and combination therapies.
Prosonix applies its proprietary ultrasonic particle engineering technology to existing drug compounds in low-cost generic devices, utilizing where possible the new regulatory guidelines for accelerated approval.
Prosonix’ lead products include: PSX1001, a drug-only directly substitutable generic version of fluticasone propionate, a potent inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) monotherapy for asthma in pressurized metered dose inhaler (pMDI); and PSX1002, a drug-only version of glycopyrrolate, a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in pMDI.
The Company is also advancing the development of its next-generation combination respiratory medicines, based on its unique Multi-component Particle (MCP™) platform.
This novel technology enables Prosonix to combine two or more drug molecules consistently in a pre-determined ratio in each and every particle in the formulation.
Prosonix is currently evaluating MCPs™ incorporating ICS plus long-acting beta-agonist (LABA), LABA/LAMA and triple ICS/LABA/LAMA combinations.
Such MCPs™ offer the potential to achieve a true synergistic clinical effect between the active pharmaceutical ingredients at the target site in the lung, optimal therapeutic efficacy and reduced dosing.
David Hipkiss, Prosonix’ CEO, said: “These new funds will enable Prosonix to accelerate its activities aimed at attaining key performance and clinical data for our pipeline of excipient-free, drug-only respiratory medicines. The potential of our novel particle engineering approach to deliver significant added value and benefits to patients and payors alike has been fundamental in attracting leading investors to back the Company.”
Karl Nägler, Venture Capital Partner at Gimv, said: “Prosonix is at an important point in its development. Based on the demonstrated performance of its particle engineering platform and approach, the near-term product opportunities in its pipeline, its highly experienced team and a strong and experienced group of investors, we are confident that Prosonix can become a significant player in the area of respiratory medicines. As such, I am looking forward to supporting the Company to achieve this potential.”
Jim Phillips, Prosonix’ Non-executive Chairman, said: “We welcome Gimv and Karl Nägler to Prosonix, strengthening the investor base, and providing further validation of Prosonix’ progress as a respiratory disease-focused company.”
