APT Pharmaceuticals Raises
$6 Million in Series A
TUCSON, AZ – SENT JULY 21, 2005
APT Pharmaceuticals Inc., a clinical-stage
biopharmaceutical company developing products to treat asthma,
chronic pulmonary obstructive disease, rhinitis and rhinovirus,
announced today the closing of a $6 million Series A financing
led by new investor Charter Life Sciences and existing investor
Research Corporation Technologies. The proceeds of this financing
will fund the initial Phase II clinical trial of the company’s
lead compound, an inhaled version of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ),
for the treatment of asthma. The company is considering adding
an additional investor to this financing in order to finance
Phase II clinical trials of HCQ in other disease indications,
including allergic rhinitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease (COPD).
APT is focused on developing corticosteroid-alternative
therapies based on topical administration of HCQ. HCQ is an
approved drug that is currently available only in oral tablet
form. In its oral form, it is used to treat systemic lupus
erythematosis, rheumatoid arthritis and sarcoidosis. APT believes
its proprietary aerosolized dosage forms and routes of administration
will allow HCQ to be used to treat asthma, COPD and allergic
rhinitis. APT holds U.S. Patent No. 6,572,858 and other pending
worldwide patent applications that protect its use of the drug
in these applications.
“We are encouraged by the positive
results from our recently completed Phase I pulmonary study
of aerosolized hydroxychloroquine (AHCQ),” said APT President
Gino Di Sciullo, Ph.D. “APT will use the funds to complete
our initial Phase II clinical trial in moderate-persistent
asthmatic patients and to accelerate development of our HCQ-based
nasal products for treating allergic rhinitis.”
Charter Life Sciences (www.charterls.com)
is a venture capital fund with offices in Palo Alto, Calif.,
and Cincinnati, Ohio, which specializes in early stage life
sciences investments.
“We are very excited to lead this
investment in APT,” said Fred Schwarzer, Managing Director
of Charter Life Sciences. “We are an early stage clinical
development fund, and APT fits perfectly our model of investing
to obtain initial clinical indications of efficacy.”
“We believe, on the basis of the large
amount of data available on HCQ as a broad spectrum antiinflamatory,
that it is going to have activity in asthma and other diseases,” added
Dr. Martin Sanders, Venture Partner of Charter Life Sciences. “Now
we just need to work out the dosage and other mechanics of
delivery.”
Research Corporation Technologies (RCT)
is a technology investment and management company (www.rctech.com)
that provides early-stage funding and development for promising
biomedical companies and technologies. RCT founded APT (http://www.rctech.com/
bioventures/apt.php) to advance development of the HCQ technology.
As the primary investor, RCT funded early formulation work,
efficacy studies, preclinical safety studies and continues
its support of clinical trials. RCT has offices in Tucson,
Ariz., Los Angeles and the Boston area, and development partners
in the United Kingdom and Australia.
CONTACT:
Jan McCoy Hutchinson
APT & RCT Communications
(520) 748-4458
or Fred M. Schwarzer
Charter Life Sciences
(650) 325-6953.
APT Pharmaceuticals Inc.
101 N. Wilmot Rd., Suite 600
Tucson, AZ 85711-3365 |
