Press Releases
May 15, 2009Altea Therapeutics patches in $3M from partnership deal
ATLANTA—Altea Therapeutics, a company developing transdermal delivery of drugs, has secured $3 million in new funding via the equity part of the development deal it signed with Eli Lilly & Co. and Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. in April. The company is also beginning the process of raising a final round of venture capital.The company entered a partnership with Eli Lilly and Amylin to develop and commercialize a novel daily transdermal patch delivering sustained levels of exenatide, a treatment for type 2 diabetes. The amount of the equity investment was disclosed in a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The potential benefits for patients from the exenatide transdermal patch include eliminating injections, which may increase therapy compliance. The company recently completed a Phase I trial of the system, but additional Phase I work remains to be done, the company says.
Altea has raised a total of about $65 million in venture backing from investors including Domain, Venrock, Aperture, vSpring Capital, KBC, Quilvest, CX Ventures and Rockport Ventures, in addition to equity investments from pharmaceutical partners.
Steven Damon, senior vice president for business development at Altea tells TechJournal South that the company has just started the process of a final raise in the $10 million to $15 million range, a relatively small round for the company.
Damon says that is because the company expects to reach the break-even point as it achieves further revenues through its partnership deals, which provide additional payments for hitting specific milestones in their projects even prior to FDA approval and potential royalties.
Eventually, the company hopes to start developing its own drugs to market as well, Damon says.
Damon says the 45 employee company is expanding on the heels of the Lilly-Amylin deal. “We’re building a team for this new collaboration. Our partners our funding these programs, so we need to gear up for them,” he says.
Altea’s PassPort system delivers drugs through the skin that would otherwise have to be injected or infused.
It is in Phase I trials to deliver insulin to diabetics, for a treatment for chronic pain, and for a compound for an undisclosed indication. It is researching uses for osteoporosis, psychosis, human and avian influenza and other treatments.
The company says the benefits of transdermal patches include that they are needle-free, painless, convenient, deliver controlled drug levels, may improve compliance, and control dosing.
Usually, the skin prevents most substances from penetrating it, which is why so many drugs must be injected. The Altea technology works by opening micropore channels in the outer layer of skin with a single pulse of energy from a battery.
Damon explains that the electricity “Creates microscopic channels that allows delivery of drugs that previously required injection.”
Water soluable drugs and protein compound in the patch, such as insulin or a pain killer, diffuse into the skin and bloodstream.
The company says its transdermal basal insulin product offers improved management of hypoglycemia by delivering steady levels of insulin, improve patient compliance because its needle-free. The patches also reduce risks of infection, among other benefits.
The company notes that market research indicates that 79 percent of doctors would switch patients from injections to a patch.
It is also testing delivery of fentanyl citrate, a long-lasting narcotic pain-killer with deterrents against abuse because the patch makes verifiable dosing information available to the doctor and a dose lock out prevents overdosing. The company says market research projects that 82 percent of doctors would prescribe the patch to chronic moderate to severe pain patients.
In 2008, the company entered into a partnership with Hospira Inc. in a deal worth up to $109 million to develop and commercialize an undisclosed transdermal product utilizing the PassPort system . Hospira also made an equity investment in Altea.
Altea is collaborating with several other pharmaceutical companies to assess the feasibility of transdermal delivery of certain drugs using its PassPort System.