Esperance Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Baton Rouge, LA-based clinical stage company developing a new class of targeted anticancer drugs, has held the first close of a $7.5m Series B financing.
The round was led by Sanofi, which committed $4.5m, with participation from existing investors Louisiana Fund I, Themelios Ventures, Research Corporation Technologies and Advantage Capital Partners/Louisiana Technology Fund, as well as current and new private investors.
The company plans to use the capital to advance studies for EP-100, its lead cancer-targeting drug candidate and to continue to expand its product pipeline. EP-100 is designed to seek and destroy cancer cells that over-express luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH) receptors on their surfaces and is currently in a Phase 1 study in patients with advanced solid tumors.
Led by President and CEO Hector Alila, PhD, Esperance Pharmaceuticals was founded on patented technology – Cationic Lytic Peptide (CLYP™) platform technology- discovered by scientists at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, the Louisiana State (LSU) Ag Center and LSU main campus.
FinSMEs
01/06/2011