SAN DIEGO, Nov. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Genoa Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company developing novel therapies for the treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF), announced today the completion of a $1.2M financing. Funds from the financing will be used to advance its lead program, GP-101 (aerosol pirfenidone). IPF is a fatal lung disease caused by both genetic and environmental factors resulting in progressive lung scarring and characterized by reduced exercise capacity and chronic cough. IPF affects approximately 200,000 Americans and 135,000 Europeans.
Genoa was founded by Mark Surber, Ph.D., an aerosol development expert formerly with Mpex and Aires Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Surber serves as Genoa‘s President and Chief Scientific Officer. “IPF is a very serious disease with only 20% of patients surviving five years,” said Dr. Surber. “Currently, there are no U.S. approved drugs, leaving lung transplant as the only option to extend life. Genoa‘s approach could be a significant advancement to treat patients with this devastating disease and we are excited about the opportunity to progress GP-101 into development.”
Outside the United States, only oral pirfenidone is approved for the treatment of IPF. Sold by InterMune in Europe and Shionogi in Japan, this product has shown promise to extend life. However, the oral drug has been associated with gastrointestinal side effects that limit dosing and challenge patient compliance. To address this unmet need, Genoa has created GP-101 as a proprietary aerosol pirfenidone formulation for direct inhalation delivery to the lung. Compared to the oral medicine, inhaled GP-101 delivers an increased pirfenidone lung dose with improved pharmacokinetic parameters. As inhalation delivers more pirfenidone directly to the lung with reduced gastrointestinal exposure, inhaled GP-101 has the potential to improve the efficacy and safety profile of pirfenidone.
“We are pleased to have raised this initial seed financing,” said Michael J. Kamdar, Genoa‘s Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer. “This financing will allow us to advance GP-101 to a key inflection point for prospective partners and investors by early 2013.”
About GenoaPharmaceuticals
Genoa Pharmaceuticals is committed to developing improved therapies for the treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. Based in San Diego, Genoa‘s lead program GP-101 (aerosol pirfenidone) is advancing towards the clinic for the treatment of IPF. Learn more at www.genoapharma.com
SOURCE Genoa Pharmaceuticals
