Transport gets $27m in VC funding for drug delivery
million in a financing round.
The firm said it would use the funds to press on with the clinical development and commercialisation of its proprietary iontophoretic drug delivery platform, which relies on the application of an electric charge across the skin to increase the transport of water-soluble drugs.
Transport's lead product is a novel therapy for herpes labialis, or cold sores. The company's technology delivers acyclovir, an approved treatment for cold sores, directly to impacted skin at concentrations up to 40 times higher than topical formulations. The product has demonstrated significant reductions in healing time in two placebo-controlled, Phase II studies involving more than 300 patients.
In conjunction with the financing, Transport has expanded its existing management agreement with Nexus Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical management company that provides core management of business operations and clinical development.
Dennis Goldberg, president and CEO of Nexus, will also serve as president and chief operating officer of Transport, while Charles Hadley of Rock Hill Ventures will continue as to serve as the drug delivery company's chairman and CEO.
Richard Kollender of Quaker BioVentures, said: "In addition to a substantial market opportunity in treating herpes labialis, conservatively estimated at $400 million [€305m], Transport has the potential to expand its platform to address multiple additional dermatologic indications."
Cold sores are most often caused by the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1). It has been estimated that as many as 80 percent of the general population is infected with HSV1, causing recurrent cold sore outbreaks in approximately 15 to 20 percent of those infected.
"To date, we have refined our delivery device, demonstrated proof of concept in two Phase II trials and defined our regulatory pathway with the US Food and Drug Administration," said Dr Goldberg. "This financing will allow us to advance our development strategy with the initiation of pivotal trials, which are anticipated to begin in 2005."
