San Francisco Business Times by Ron Leuty, Reporter
Altheos Inc. raised an additional $12.5 million — pushing its Series A round to a total of $32.5 million — as the South San Francisco company enters a mid-stage study of a glaucoma drug.
Funding has come from Bay City Capital, Novo A/S, Canaan Partners and additional investors, the company said Thursday.
The expanded Series A round will allow Altheos to complete the Phase II clinical program for ATS-907, which is designed as an eye drop to reduce elevated intraocular pressure in primary open angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension. The first patent has been dosed in a Phase IIa trial of the drug, the company said.
ATS-907 is one of a number of so-called ROCK compounds licensed from Asahi Kasei Pharma. Inhibitors of Rho kinase, or ROCK, are believed to reduce cellular “stiffness,” reduce intraocular pressure and could reduce inflammation in the eye, Altheos said.
Altheos CEO Dr. Henry Hsu and Ken Kengatharan started the company in 2009.
The initial $20 million was raised in 2010.
