Beech Tree Labs, Inc. announced today the simultaneous closing of its over-subscribed Series B offering and its receipt of a U.S. government grant. The former funds, raised exclusively from private investors, are to be used to further the Company’s two Phase 2 IND clinical trials currently in progress for influenza and recurrent oral herpes. The grant helps support a third IND directed to the evaluation of Beech Tree’s product candidate for the treatment of nicotine craving.
The $7 million Series B financing permits completion of both anti-viral trials plus in vitro mechanism-of-action studies being conducted in parallel with the clinical work. The $163,873 grant awarded under the Federal government’s Quality Therapeutic Discovery Project program is designed to partially reimburse the Company for expenses incurred for preparation, IND submission, and conducting a FDA-authorized Phase 1/2 anti-nicotine craving trial at Brown University’s Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies.
Beech Tree’s founder and CEO, Dr. John McMichael said, “We are thankful for the support provided by the private investors and appreciative of the government’s positive review of our efforts toward treating nicotine craving. Both sources of revenue will be used to further develop the Company’s lead product candidates.”
Beech Tree Labs is a privately held biopharmaceutical company, a leader in novel molecular signaling technology with an extensive patent portfolio that includes other potential therapeutics targeting a broad spectrum of chronic disorders. The Company specializes in discovery and early-stage development through Phase 2 clinical trials and out-licenses to larger pharmaceutical and biotech firms for continued evaluation and marketing.
