New Jersey biotech Edge Therapeutics pocketed $72.5 million in a series of funding rounds, piling up cash as it prepares to take its lead treatment for brain injuries into Phase III development.
In a fundraise closed this month, Edge banked $56 million in a round led by Venrock and joined by Sofinnova Ventures, Janus Capital Management, New Leaf Venture Partners and others. That sum, added to a previously undisclosed $16.5 million round wrapped up in December, will help Edge move its top prospect through mid-stage studies.
The company's most advanced asset, EG-1962, is a microparticle treatment designed to ease symptoms for patients suffering from brain hemorrhages tied to aneurysms. EG-1962 contains nimodipine, the standard of care for aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH), but its polymer formulation allows Edge to administer it without the dose-limiting side effects that characterize the older drug, according to the company.
In preliminary results from a small Phase I/II study, EG-1962 showed promising early signs of efficacy, Edge said, helping patients recover from aSAH at a better rate than those taking oral nimodipine. The company expects to have top-line results from that study in hand by the middle of this year, and, if all goes according to plan, Edge will spend its new cash on enrolling a Phase III trial in the second half of 2015.
Beyond, EG-1962, Edge is working on a treatment for chronic subdural hematoma, a buildup of blood between the brain and its outermost covering often caused by trauma. That drug, EG-1964, contains the anti-bleeding agent aprotinin, an effective treatment whose use is hampered by serious side effects, Edge said. Using the same polymer technology at work in EG-1962, the company has crafted a formulation it believes can make aprotinin safe for use. Edge is working through preclinical studies with EG-1964 and plans to kick off the IND process some time this year.
Alongside Edge's latest financing, Venrock's Anders Hove and Sofinnova's James Healy have joined the company's board.
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