MALVERN, Pa., Sept. 05, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage
biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapies for orphan diseases, with an initial
focus on cardiopulmonary disorders, today announced the completion of a $34 million Series D financing, including the conversion of
existing convertible promissory notes.
New investors in the financing include Cormorant Asset Management, Rock Springs Capital and Mountain Group
Partners. Existing investors New Enterprise Associates, Hatteras Venture Partners, AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN), Johnson & Johnson
Innovation – JJDC, Inc., Syno Capital and Fletcher Spaght Ventures also participated in the financing.
“PhaseBio has the potential to bring life-saving therapies to patients with orphan cardiopulmonary diseases.
PB2452 addresses a growing unmet medical need for patients on ticagrelor who are experiencing a major bleeding event or who need
urgent surgery,” said Clay B. Thorp, Executive Chairman of PhaseBio and General Partner of Hatteras Venture Partners. “In addition,
with PB1046 and future product candidates based on our elastin-like polypeptide (“ELP”) technology, PhaseBio has the potential
to build a significant pipeline in the orphan disease space.”
PhaseBio plans to use the proceeds from the Series D financing to advance the clinical development of its lead
product candidate PB2452. PB2452 is a potentially first-in-class reversal agent for the antiplatelet drug ticagrelor that is being
developed for the treatment of patients on ticagrelor who are experiencing a major bleeding event or who require urgent surgery,
and is currently in a Phase 1 proof of concept study. Additionally, the company plans to initiate a Phase 2 clinical study of its
ELP-based therapy PB1046 in pulmonary arterial hypertension (“PAH”) in the third quarter of 2018 and to explore additional
indications for its half-life extending ELP technology platform.
“We are encouraged by the enthusiasm of our new and existing investors for the potential of our clinical
programs and our proprietary ELP technology platform,” said Jonathan P. Mow, Chief Executive Officer of PhaseBio. “We look forward
to the readout of data from the Phase 1 study of PB2452, exploring partnership opportunities for our drug products outside of the
U.S. and dosing patients in the Phase 2 study of our second product candidate, PB1046, in patients with PAH shortly. In addition,
we plan to continue to leverage our ELP technology to expand our development pipeline.”
About PhaseBio
PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and
commercialization of novel therapies for the treatment of serious orphan diseases, with an initial focus on cardiopulmonary
disorders. The company’s lead development candidate is PB2452, a potentially first-in-class reversal agent for the antiplatelet
therapy ticagrelor. PhaseBio is also leveraging its proprietary ELP biopolymer technology platform to develop therapies with the
potential for less-frequent dosing and improved pharmacokinetics. PhaseBio’s second product candidate PB1046, which is based on
ELP, is a once-weekly vasoactive intestinal peptide receptor agonist for the treatment of PAH. PhaseBio is privately owned, with
headquarters and research laboratories in Malvern, PA. For more information, please visit www.phasebio.com.
Media Contact:
Laura Bagby, 6 Degrees
(312) 448-8098
lbagby@6degreespr.com