 Press Releases15th July 2003 Bioventure View Biotech makes light work of financing Photopharmica, a spin-out from the Centre of Photobiology and Photodynamic Therapy at the University of Leeds (UK) has raised £3.5M from new investors in a second round financing. The two year old company will use the money to develop light sensitive drugs for indications including oncology and infection. CEO of Photopharmica, John Lyon, told BVV: "Despite the difficult market, we found investors very hospitable, and they were impressed by our solid technology and our management team that has a good mix of academic and commercial experience." The company's photosensitiser technology uses small molecules that are activated by light to kill diseased tissues or unwanted bacteria, an approach known as photodynamic therapy (PDT). The technology can also be used for disease detection and imaging techniques. Photopharmica will use the cash to develop new PDT treatments for early and precancerous conditions and bacterial infections. "we would like to take at least two of our compounds to the proof-of-principle stage in clinical trials - one anticancer and one anti-infective. We are aiming to have our first product in clinical trials before the end of 2004," he revealed. The company's lead anti-infective compound has recently been partnered with a "major player" in the PDT sector, although the details of the deal remain undisclosed. However, Lyon did say that development costs will be split equally and there is an option to extend the deal should the agreement be successful. Cash from the round will also be used to develop Photopharmica's technology for industrial applications. "Preclinical studies have confirmed that our lead anti-bacterial candidates are effective against both Gram positive and Gram negative pathogens, including multi-drug resistant organisms such as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus)", commented Lyon. The financing, which will last the company approximately three years, was provided by an undisclosed investor. In November 2002, Photopharmica received £250,000 seed funding from the White Rose Seedcorn Fund, which is owned by the Universities of Leeds, Sheffield and York, and provides finance to companies that are based on research conducted in the Universities. In June, the fund gave £150,000 to influenza company Adjuvantix (Sheffield, UK; BVV Vol 18, No 12, p10). Lyon believes the company's technology has several advantages over other PDT treatments in development. "In general, PDT drugs have a number of drawbacks. Selectivity is a major issue - whilst treatment may be effective in killing cancer or infective bacteria, it may also kill healthy cells or tissue. Moreover, the interval between administering the drug and its activation by a light source can also be as much as two or three days, which is inconvenient and necessitates a hospital stay. Treated patients may also have to stay out of the sun for a number of months. In contrast, our PDT candidates are less affected by subsequent exposure to sunlight, and the interval between drug administration and applying the light source is just a few hours, allowing treatment to be carried out on an outpatient basis. Importantly, our PDT compounds have been designed to be virtually 100% specific for the target diseased tissue or infective organism significantly improving safety." > menu |
