LPOXY Therapeutics Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a novel non-antibiotic therapy to prevent Clostridioides difficile infections (Cdiff), announced on Wednesday that it has signed a term sheet with 5Horizons Ventures LLC, a life science venture capital firm focused on innovative healthcare solutions, in support of a USD28m Series A financing.

This agreement facilitates the formation of an investment syndicate to fund LPOXY's registrational STOP-Cdiff (SIDIPREV Trial On Prevention of C. difficile Infections) clinical trial.

The trial is intended to serve as the registrational study for SIDIPREV, a therapy that aims to prevent life-threatening Cdiff in high-risk hospitalised patients. C. difficile is categorised by the CDC as an urgent public health threat that kills 80 Americans every day.

"5 Horizons Ventures' commitment marks a major milestone for LPOXY as we move toward launching our pivotal STOP-Cdiff trial," said Dr. Larry Sutton, LPOXY CEO and co-founder. "SIDIPREV represents a novel approach to infection prevention that not only addresses a deadly unmet need but also aligns with hospital economics by reducing costly complications within fixed DRG payments."

SIDIPREV is an orally administered, enteric-coated capsule that releases a metered dose of oxygen into the lower gastrointestinal tract, creating an environment hostile to anaerobic pathogens like C. difficile. Oxygen also suppresses toxin production and has mucosal anti-inflammatory effects.

STOP-Cdiff is a randomised, placebo-controlled superiority trial that is planned to evaluate the efficacy and safety of SIDIPREV in approximately 500 hospitalised patients at elevated risk for Cdiff due to age and antibiotic exposure. LPOXY aims to launch the trial in Q3 2026 and file for approval in 2029.