24 August 2018 - - Swiss clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Novaremed AG has successfully raised additional financing of CHF 6m from existing shareholders and several new private investors, the company said.
The financing raised via a rights offering, with pro-rata rights for existing shareholders, was significantly oversubscribed.
The proceeds of the financing will be used to prepare for a global Phase 2b clinical study of its lead compound, NRD.E1, a novel, first-in-class, small molecule for patients suffering from diabetic neuropathic pain (DNP).
Together with CHF 4.44 m raised in April 2018, the company will be well capitalized to prepare for a global Phase 2b clinical study, which is expected to be initiated in H2 2019.
Diabetes (Type 1 and Type 2) is the leading cause for neuropathy.1 Up to 20% of diabetic patients suffers from DNP2 and two-third of those – more than 15m patients - experience chronic, debilitating pain that substantially impairs quality of life.
The efficacy of available treatments is limited and associated with many adverse effects and drug to drug interactions.
NRD.E1 is a small, once daily, orally available molecule, first synthesized in 2009. NRD.E1 has been shown to be an allosteric modulator of Lyn Kinase and is first in class.
It is currently being developed for the treatment of DNP.
The recently concluded 3-week, placebo-controlled, randomised Phase 2a proof of concept clinical study in 88 patients suffering from DNP showed clinically relevant reduction in patient-reported pain. NRD.E1 was well tolerated at all doses studied on the Phase 2a study.
Novaremed was founded in 2008 in Israel. In early 2018, the clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company was incorporated in Switzerland as Novaremed AG to gain rapid access to highly qualified staff and services required for rapid clinical development on a global scale.
Besides evaluation of its lead compound NRD.E1 in DNP, further indications will be explored as part of a comprehensive life-cycle management, supported by efficacy demonstrated in multiple animal models of pain and other indications.