MGB Biopharma has raised money to finish a phase 2a trial of its lead antibiotic MGB-BP-3 in people with Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (CDAD). The small financing positions MGB to generate clinical data and prepare for the next steps in development of the Gram-positive antibiotic.
Glasgow, Scotland-based MGB closed out April with a £160,000 ($195,000) and change in the bank. But with £1.3 million of an Innovate UK award still available and investors expressing an interest in putting in another £1 million, MGB expressed confidence that it had access to money to see it through another year. ClinicalTrials.gov lists October as the completion date for the phase 2a trial.
Now, MGB has secured the anticipated investment. Archangel Investors led the round with support from backers including Scottish Investment Bank, giving MGB the means to complete the phase 2a and keep going into the second half of next year.
The press release from MGB to disclose the financing lacks information about the size of the round. However, MGB filings with the U.K. registrar of companies reveal some details about the financing.
Earlier this month, MGB passed a resolution to make up to 5.3 million shares available to investors including Archangel, the lead on the newly disclosed financing. A separate statement issued on the same day shows MGB allotted about 2.6 million shares at £0.20 a piece, resulting in a financing of £532,000. The figure will rise to £1 million if all shares in the resolution are sold at the same price.
Last year, MGB raised £1.3 million by issuing around 4.3 million shares. The price per share in that financing was £0.30, above the £0.20 detailed in the paperwork for the latest fundraising.
While the sums are small by the standards of some quarters of the biotech industry, they are enough to get MGB beyond a milestone that will shape the future of its lead candidate, MGB-BP-3.
The ongoing phase 2a trial is analyzing the effect of three doses of the antibacterial agent on the rate of clinical cure at 12 days. A co-primary endpoint is assessing treatment-related adverse events, while a range of secondary endpoints are looking at factors including the rate of CDAD recurrence in the weeks after MGB-BP-3 dosing stops.