Pulmocide Raises $30 Million in Series B Financing
Funding to progress novel wholly-owned compounds for RSV and pulmonary Aspergillosis
London, UK, 20 March 2017: Pulmocide Ltd, the UK-based drug discovery company developing novel compounds designed for inhaled delivery to treat respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and pulmonary aspergillosis, today announced the completion of a $30.4 million Series B financing round. The round was led by new investor SR One and included Longwood Fund plus existing investors SV Life Sciences, F-Prime Capital, Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JJDC, Inc. and Touchstone Innovations plc.
The proceeds will enable Pulmocide to progress its wholly-owned assets through early clinical development. Pulmocide is on track to deliver proof of concept data in RSV with its highly potent inhaled RSV antiviral agent (PC786) in human RSV challenge and in infants hospitalised with bronchiolitis due to RSV infection.
Pulmocide will also be progressing PC945, a potent azole antifungal for the treatment of pulmonary Aspergillosis, including fungal asthma, pulmonary Aspergilloma, Aspergillus infections in lung transplant recipients and patients with cystic fibrosis.
Dr Garth Rapeport, Chief Executive Officer of Pulmocide, commented: "Respiratory infections are a significant cause of global morbidity and mortality with a high unmet medical need. Pulmocide is developing bespoke inhaled medicines to provide effective and safe therapies for the treatment of RSV and pulmonary Aspergillosis.
"This Series B fundraising will provide us with the capital to advance our two novel compounds through early clinical development; another step closer to a treatment for patients for these debilitating infections. We are delighted by the interest we've received in this round and would like to thank our new and existing shareholders for their support and continued commitment to Pulmocide. We look forward to providing further pipeline updates as developments progress with our important programmes."
Matthew Foy, Partner at SR One, added: "Pulmocide's core asset is the management team's proprietary expertise in the design of highly potent compounds with extended lung retention time and limited systemic exposure. This has enabled the development of two anti-infective drugs for serious diseases of the lung, where an inhaled therapy should deliver the optimal clinical outcome. SR One is excited to be joining such a strong syndicate of investors to support Pulmocide as it progresses both programmes towards clinical proof of concept."
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For further information, please contact:
Pulmocide Ltd Garth Rapeport, Chief Executive Officer +44 203 763 9484 admin@pulmocide.com
Consilium Strategic Communications Mary-Jane Elliott, Ivar Milligan +44 20 3709 5702 pulmocide@consilium-comms.com
About Pulmocide: Pulmocide is a privately-held company located in London, developing novel small molecule inhaled medicines for the treatment of life threatening respiratory infections caused by RSV and Aspergillus. The development of potent anti-infective agents with optimal characteristics for lung delivery is highly attractive from a safety and efficacy perspective with the avoidance of systemic liability. This approach offers the prospect of a new generation of safe and tolerated inhaled therapies for patients in areas of high unmet clinical need. Pulmocide's investors include SR One, SV Life Sciences, F-Prime Capital, Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JJDC, Inc., Touchstone Innovations plc and Longwood Fund. For more information please visit www.pulmocide.com
