Bioggio, Switzerland, 2 December 2013 - Telormedix, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on TLR7 agonists in the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases, today announced that it has raised CHF 6 Million in an extension to its Series B financing from existing investors Aravis Venture (Zurich, Switzerland) and Proquest Investments (Princeton, USA). The funds will be used to support the on-going Phase II clinical trial of TMX-101 for the treatment of carcinoma in situ (CIS) in the bladder and to finance the planning of a follow on trial for patients with CIS, expected to start in 2014.
TMX-101, Telormedix’ lead compound, a TLR7 agonist, is currently in an open-label Phase II clinical trial involving 12 CIS patients recruited from private urology clinics in the USA, to examine the efficacy of the drug over six doses. The active ingredient in TMX-101 is a known immuno-modulatory molecule with a favourable safety profile and a demonstrated clinical efficacy in oncological and viral diseases.
Johanna Holldack, CEO of Telormedix, commented: “As we near completion of the current Phase II trial in patients with CIS, we are very encouraged by responses observed to date and we remain extremely hopeful that targeting TLR-7 with TMX-101 will prove to be a successful and efficacious treatment option in these patients.”
“The continued support of our committed and supportive investors ensures that we have sufficient funds to complete the current trial and, subject to positive results, move quickly to a pivotal trial” she said.
Patients with high-grade tumors or CIS currently most often receive treatment with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), an intravesical immunotherapy that is unfortunately often accompanied by prolonged bladder irritation, fever, and bleeding which may force the treating physician to decrease the BCG dosage or to discontinue the therapy. TMX-101 has already demonstrated a strong disease-modifying cytokine response in a clinical trial involving patients with papillary, non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). CIS is a more aggressive cancer, but it is known that it responds well to immunotherapeutic interventions.
It is anticipated that the full data from the Phase II trial will be presented at a major urology meeting in the first half of 2014. The enrollment has been completed. Full details of the trial design are available at www.clinicaltrials.gov ID: NCT01731652.
Telormedix has previously raised CHF 28.5M ($31.2M) in venture funding and, with this round, the total is now CHF 34.5M ($37.8M).
About Telormedix
Telormedix (www.telormedix.com), founded in October 2007, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on targeted immunity and modulation of the innate immune system for treating cancer and autoimmune diseases. The Company’s lead product, TMX-101, recently entered a Phase I/II clinical trial for the treatment of Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer (NMIBC). In addition, Telormedix is developing two TLR7-targeted molecules, TMX-201 and TMX-202, as a vaccine adjuvant. One of these molecules, TMX-202, has recently been selected for preclinical study for the topical treatment of skin cancers and other indications. The candidate has already successfully completed a number of in vivo studies.
Located in Switzerland, Telormedix is led by a highly experienced management team and backed by an international consortium of venture capitalists Aravis Venture (Zurich, Switzerland) and Proquest Investments (Princeton, USA).
About Aravis Venture
Aravis is a Switzerland based venture capital organisation managing two funds focused on life science (Aravis Biotech I & II) and a third fund focused on renewable energy (Aravis Energy I). Since 1995 the Aravis management team have invested over $600 million in more than 80 companies.
As well as providing venture capital backing, Aravis also takes a hands-on approach to highly promising companies offering a unique international network that combines decades of experience in science, operations and financing.
With a disciplined investment process and Aravis’ hands on approach in supporting management, the companies that Aravis has invested in have shown a comparatively low failure rate and many have grown to become some of the leading companies in their fields.
For more information, please visit Aravis Ventures’ website at www.aravis.ch .
About Proquest Investments
Founded in 1998, ProQuest Investments is a healthcare venture capital firm with over $900 million under management. With a proven superior track record and over 70 investments the portfolio reflects the rich diversity of the healthcare industry and exemplifies commitment to fostering the growth of exceptional businesses.
For more information, please visit ProQuest’s website at www.proquestvc.com .
Further Information:
Johanna Holldack
CEO
Telormedix SA
t: +41 (0)91 610 7000
e: jholldack@telormedix.com
Dr Robert Mayer
Account Director
College Hill Life Sciences
t : +49 (0)89 5238 8030
e: telormedix@collegehill.com
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