Privately-held Dance Biopharm said yesterday that it has completed a private equity financing round to secure about $20.5 million in gross proceeds.
The financing round was insider-only with a number of institutional and individual accredited investors participating. Molex Ventures made a substantial equity investment in Dance Biopharm, according to the company. Molex has been involved in the development of Dance Biopharm’s Dance 501 inhalable insulin device that is designed to offer better management of diabetes treatment and other biologic therapies.
“This round of financing comes at an inflection point for Dance as we make the preparations to embark on the pivotal trials for Dance 501, our flagship soft mist inhaled insulin product, and advance our pipeline assets toward human clinical trials,” CEO of Dance Anne Whitaker said in a press release.
The money from the financing round will go toward funding the manufacturing of the insulin and devices for Phase 3 registration studies for the company’s Dance 501, IND-enabling studies for Dance 601, a GLP-1 analog, organizational preparation for carrying out the studies and other corporate purposes.
Dance 501 is a preservative-free formulation of inhaled recombinant human insulin that is delivered through a smart, handheld soft mist device. It enables convenient and confident delivery of insulin into the lungs in a few breaths, according to the Dance Biopharm. The company plans to start a global, Phase 3 clinical development program with the device in people who have Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes by mid-2020.
“We are pleased to have made an additional investment in Dance as they advance the development and use of inhaled biologics in the form of smart, needle-free medical devices for chronic medical conditions. We believe that Dance is making important headway in the development and commercialization of a simple and cost-effective biologics delivery platform built on leading-edge technologies,” Lily Yeung, VP of Molex Ventures, said.
SternAegis Ventures was the exclusive agent for the financing round.
