Petach Tikva, Israel, January 7, 2013. PolyPid Ltd., a developer of innovative drug carriers, today announced that it has raised $2.4 million in a third round of financing from existing and new investors, at a company post-money valuation of $17.4 million.
PolyPid’s flagship platform (also named PolyPid technology), is a new, groundbreaking family of drug carriers, based on an innovative fusion between polymers and lipid-based systems. PolyPid enables to determine, in advance, the desired release rate of the drug as well as the optimal duration, which may last up to several months. The revolutionary platform is protected by a series of patents, and is adaptable to a wide variety of drugs: small molecules such as antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs, peptides, proteins and also can be used for the administration of drugs based on nucleic acids (DNA and RNA).
The PolyPid platform’s first product is BonyPidTM, designed to treat and even prevent bone contaminations or infections caused during bone recovery process in open long-bone fractures such as fractures associated with high energy, often caused by car accidents, falls from a height, as well as combat injuries. These open fractures may cause prolonged suffering, severe dysfunction, amputation and even death. In addition to suffering, health systems incur high financial losses, due to prolonged hospitalization and delayed recovery resulting from high infection prevalence. BonyPid™ is based on synthetic particles used to recover the affected bone, which are coated with a unique layer, based on PolyPid’s platform. After implantation, the coating releases antibiotic drugs, at a low and accurate dosage directly into the affected bone environment, over a prolonged period and at a pre-planned release rate. As a result, the product both removes the sources of infection and supports bone recovery, maintaining a high safety profile.
“Preliminary clinical results of the BonyPid™ trial, in severe cases of crushed and contaminated open fractures, clearly demonstrate the product’s ability to bring about rapid recovery of the bone and the injured organ. This capability stems from the possibility to implant the product immediately during the first surgery, thus blocking the infection and enabling early recovery especially in cases of serious injuries,” said Dr. Noam Emanuel, PolyPid’s CTO.
“The fund-raising and the high post-money value, almost twice the value after the previous fund-raising, is evidence to the enormous potential of PolyPid’s technology and products,” said Amir Weisberg, PolyPid’s CEO. “This potential is supported by positive preliminary findings of the first in-man clinical trial of BonyPid. The money raised will be used for additional investments in R&D and further clinical trials.”
PolyPid’s board of directors and advisory board include key people from the local and international pharmaceutical and medical scene, including Dr. Yafit Stark – Vice President, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Professor Yechezkel Barenholz, Professor David Segal and Professor Ramon Gustilo, who is one of the world’s most prominent opinion leaders in the field of orthopedics.
About PolyPid Ltd.
Founded in 2008 and located in Israel, PolyPid Ltd. is a privately held, development stage company that has developed a platform enabling a controlled and prolonged release of any active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). PolyPid’s technology combines polymers and lipids, enabling small-and-large API entrapment in degradation and hydration protected environments, regardless of their chemical or physical characteristics. PolyPid’s technology allows the release of the API from the reservoir at pre-determined rates of up to several months, with a constant release rate. The flexibility of this innovative technology enables local administration of compounds across numerous therapeutic classes for several applications. PolyPid Ltd. is owned by its founders, private investors and Xenia Venture Capital. For more information about PolyPid Ltd., visit www.polypid.com
Contact:
David Kanaan
Kanaan Public Relations
Tel.: +972-54-4255307
e-mail: David@KanaanPR.com
