CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Peptimmune, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company, announced that it has completed a second close of $8.9 million of its Series D preferred stock offering with its investor syndicate led by New Enterprise Associates, MPM Capital, Hunt Ventures L.P., Boston Medical Investors and Silicon Valley Bank Capital, and its Chairman of the Board. The proceeds of the financing are primarily being used to advance clinical development of Peptimmune’s PI-2301 for the treatment of multiple sclerosis.
“The Series D investment allows us to further evaluate PI-2301 in multiple sclerosis patients,” stated Thomas P. Mathers, President and CEO. “The primary goal of our current Phase Ib study is to demonstrate safety of PI-2301 in multiple sclerosis patients. The Phase Ib will investigate the pharmacologic effect of PI-2301 in MS patients in the most extensive study of biomarkers in patients treated with copolymers to date.”
Financing Clinical Trials in Multiple Sclerosis
Peptimmune is currently undertaking its Phase Ib multiple ascending dose study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of PI-2301 in subjects with Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (SP-MS). The Phase Ib multiple-ascending dose, double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized study will involve up to fifty-three subjects with SP-MS who will receive the drug once weekly in four escalating-dose cohorts. Following establishment of safety at potentially therapeutic doses and proof of pharmacologic mechanism, the Company plans to initiate its Phase II study in multiple sclerosis patients in 2009.
About PI-2301
PI-2301 is a second generation peptide copolymer from a similar compound class as Copaxone(R) (Teva Pharmaceuticals). PI-2301 works through immune modulation by enhancing the regulatory response of the immune system to control the pathogenic autoimmune response in certain diseases. PI-2301 has been optimized using Peptimmune’s novel platform peptide chemistry and in pre-clinical studies, has shown to be more potent and effective than Copaxone in treating disease models for multiple sclerosis. It is expected that weekly dosing administration with PI-2301 will provide greater patient convenience and tolerability over Copaxone’s daily dosing administration. PI-2301 has also shown efficacy in pre-clinical models of autoimmune diseases where immune modulation may be effective, such as Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis and autoimmune uveitis. Peptimmune has also introduced highly reproducible manufacturing methods that allow very strict control and characterization of PI-2301 and should provide a superior level of batch to batch consistency.
Information on Multiple Sclerosis
Over 400,000 Americans have multiple sclerosis (MS), and worldwide MS may affect over 2.5 million individuals. MS is an autoimmune disease in which the individuals’ immune system responds against multiple components of nerve-insulating myelin. The effects of these immune-mediated attacks can
range from relatively benign to somewhat disabling to devastating, as communication between the brain and other parts of the body is disrupted.
About Peptimmune
Peptimmune, Inc. is a privately held clinical stage biotechnology company focused on the development of peptide therapies to improve the management of chronic autoimmune and inflammatory disorders. The Company is in clinical development with second-generation therapeutics that are expected to result in safer and more effective products for multiple sclerosis and pemphigus vulgaris. Current investors include New Enterprise Associates, MPM Capital, Hunt Ventures, Boston Medical Investors, and Silicon Valley Bank Capital. For additional information, access our website at: http://www.peptimmune.com.
CONTACT: Thomas Mathers of Peptimmune, Inc., +1-617-715-8040
Web site: http://www.peptimmune.com/
