ProFibrix B.V., a Leiden, The Netherlands-based developer of innovative products for hemostasis and regenerative medicine, received a loan of potentially up to €5m from SenterNovem, an agency of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs.
The loan, which consists of an initial commitment of €2.75m, with the possibility to call on an additional €2.25m when and if certain development milestones are met, is awarded under the SenterNovem-managed Innovation Credit scheme. It is aimed at supporting high risk, and commercially attractive development projects with an interest-bearing loan of which repayment is waived if the project fails.
With the new capital, the company plans to finance the further clinical development of Fibrocaps, which is a new hemostat based on a mixture of two essential blood clotting proteins, fibrinogen and thrombin. It is a dry powder topical tissue sealant that rapidly stops bleeding after or during surgery.
Fibrocaps is currently in a Phase II clinical trial in the Netherlands with results expected early in 2010.
The company, which also operates a subsidiary in Seattle, USA, expects to submit an Investigational New Drug Application (IND) for Fibrocaps to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the first half of 2010, and to conduct a combined phase II/III pivotal study in various surgical indications.
Commenting on the financing, Jaap Koopman, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of ProFibrix, was reported as saying: “On the back of our recent successful B round in which we raised €8m (approximately $11m), we are very pleased to further solidify the financial basis of ProFibrix. Loans under this special scheme are awarded to innovative projects with a strong commercial potential. This loan will be instrumental in financing the Phase II and III development of our lead product Fibrocaps”.
FinSMEs
07/01/2010