Spinifex Pharmaceuticals Raises US$45m in Series C Financing

Spinifex Pharmaceuticals Raises US$45mSpinifex Pharmaceuticals Raises US$45m in Series C Financing PR Newswire MELBOURNE, Australia, April 11, 2014 • Syndicate includes Novo A/S and Canaan Partners alongside existing investors • New funds to drive the development of Spinifex's lead candidate, EMA401, as a treatment for chronic pain Spinifex Pharmaceuticals, a pain drug development company, today announces it has completed a US$45m Series C financing led by Novo A/S and joined by additional new investor Canaan Partners. Existing investors GBS Venture Partners, Brandon Capital Partners, Uniseed and UniQuest also participated. The new funds will be used to advance the development of Spinifex's lead candidate, EMA401, a novel angiotensin II type 2 (AT ) receptor2 antagonist being developed as a potential first-in-class oral treatment for chronic pain without CNS side effects. The positive results of Spinifex's Phase 2 clinical trial of EMA401 in postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) were [1]recently published in The Lancet . PHN is a painful condition that develops in some patients following herpes zoster (shingles) and where existing therapy does not relieve pain in all individuals. Spinifex is preparing to conduct a further, dose-ranging, Phase 2 trial of EMA401 in PHN patients, specifically studying the candidate's efficacy over a 12-week time frame as would be required by the FDA during the eventual Phase 3 program.