Oversubscribed $42 Million Series B Financing Provides Significant Runway to Support Continued Advancement of Innovative Inhaled Cardiovascular Therapy
First Patients Dosed in Phase 2 Clinical Trial of First-of-its-Kind Inhaled Antiarrhythmic for Treatment of Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Nov. 08, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- InCarda Therapeutics, Inc. ("InCarda"), a privately-held biopharmaceutical company developing first-of-their-kind inhaled therapies for cardiovascular diseases, today provided a corporate update highlighting fundraising and clinical development milestones. These achievements have contributed to the continued successful development of its lead clinical program, while also significantly strengthening the company in the areas of capital resources and leadership.
Fundraising and Board Expansion
InCarda has completed an oversubscribed $42 million Series B financing and subsequently closed on the initial tranches of the round of funding. The financing was led by new investors Sofinnova and HealthCap and also included new investor Deerfield Management and existing investors Morningside Venture and Asset Management Ventures. Proceeds from the financing will be used primarily to fund the recently initiated Phase 2 study of InRhythm™ (flecainide for inhalation), the company’s lead development program, for the treatment of recent-onset paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF).
As part of the Series B financing, InCarda has expanded its board of directors to include:
Alan Colowick, M.D., M.P.H. (Board Chairman) – Dr. Colowick is a partner at Sofinnova since 2017 and most recently before that served as executive vice president at Celgene Corporation. He also sits on the board of directors of multiple biotech companies and focuses on clinical-stage product companies for Sofinnova.
Johan Christenson, M.D., Ph.D. – Dr. Christenson is a partner at HealthCap who has been with the firm since 2001. He previously supervised the healthcare portfolio of SEB Ventures and has senior management experience from Astra Pain Control as project director and AstraZeneca as global product director. He sits on the boards of several development stage companies in Europe and North America.
Andrew ElBardissi, M.D., M.P.H, M.B.A. – Dr. ElBardissi is a principal on Deerfield’s private transactions team and focuses on early-stage investments in medical technology and biotechnology. He sits on the boards of multiple development-stage companies with technologies in cardiology and electrophysiology. He trained in cardiothoracic surgery at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard Medical School and the Stanford University School of Medicine.
These new appointees have joined InCarda’s existing board members, which include:
Norbert Bischofberger, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Kronos Bio
Isaac Cheng, M.D., Morningside
Grace Colón, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of InCarda
Louis Lange, M.D., Ph.D. (Board observer), founder, chairman and chief executive officer of CV Therapeutics until its acquisition by Gilead Sciences
InCarda would like to thank Reenie McCarthy, chief executive officer of Stealth BioTherapeutics, for her contributions and support as the initial board representative from Morningside.
Clinical Development Milestones:
InCarda is currently enrolling a multinational Phase 2 clinical trial of InRhythm in patients with recent-onset PAF. Approved treatments for PAF rely upon either chronic administration of oral antiarrhythmic drugs or acute hospital-based procedures, neither of which address the unmet need of patients for a non-invasive, rapid-acting treatment that can be self-administered whenever an episode of PAF occurs. InRhythm is a novel inhaled therapeutic candidate designed to rapidly deliver flecainide, a well-established antiarrhythmic agent, to the heart via the lungs, converting patients back to a normal sinus rhythm (NSR)...
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