Lung Therapeutics closes $1,550,000 of its initial Series A Preferred Stock financing, with additional milestone-driven commitments totaling $2,750,000.
AUSTIN, TX — October 28, 2014 — Lung Therapeutics, Inc., a pharmaceutical company focused on niche, orphan drug indications in lung injury and disease, has closed on $1,550,000 in the initial closing of its Series A Preferred Stock financing, including $550,000 in converted debt, with a remaining $1,200,000 committed to be funded upon achievement of certain milestones by Lung Therapeutics, for a total of $2,750,000. The lead investor in the round was a company formed by Dallas/Fort Worth-based Steelhead Capital Management and Bios Research.
Lung Therapeutics, Inc. (LTI) was formed based on technology out of the lab of Dr. Steven Idell of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler. The company is led by CEO Brian Windsor, a Texas entrepreneur with a Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of Texas at Austin and the co-holder of several patents. The company is developing a lead drug candidate, LTI-01, to reduce fibrinous scars in the lung cavity to allow fluid drainage without surgery for patients with loculated pleural effusion.
“We are pleased to have our initial funding in place so that we can accelerate our efforts to improve therapeutic options for patients suffering from lung injury and disease,” Dr. Windsor said. “By focusing on orphan drug indications related to fibrosis, Lung Therapeutics intends to address a range of currently underserved disease conditions.”
Market Leadership Opportunity/Product Development
“Lung Therapeutics has three unique and important therapeutics focused on unmet needs in pulmonology,” stated Bios Research President and LTI investor, Aaron Fletcher, Ph.D. “Their scientists have generated tremendous NIH support and were perfectly positioned for private funding to move the company into clinical trials. We believe that LTI is poised to complete a major transaction within the next few years.”
Lung Therapeutics currently has pipeline programs in three areas, with significant prior grant funding to facilitate early development and pre-clinical work. Therapeutic applications of the company’s lead pipeline compound, LTI-01, address unmet needs in a $300+ million global market for patients with non-draining pleural effusions, a severe consequence of pneumonia.
Pleural effusion is a condition where the space surrounding the lungs is filled with fluid, reducing lung function. Fibrinous scar tissue (loculation) may form in the pleural space, complicating the effective drainage of this fluid. LTI-01 is a unique, injectable fibrinolytic drug intended to maximize scar reduction in these patients. By clearing the scar tissue pharmaceutically with LTI-01, the clinical pathway for patients is significantly improved, enabling fluid drainage without surgery. LTI-01 represents a first in class therapy for pleural effusion with loculation.
For each of the clinical programs, Lung Therapeutics is seeking orphan drug designation to expedite product development.
About Lung Therapeutics, Inc.
Lung Therapeutics, Inc. is a pharmaceutical company formed to leverage 25 years of leading research in lung injury and disease by pursuing niche, orphan drug indications for which there is no current effective therapeutic option. Current pipeline programs include LTI-01 Pleural Effusion (PE) with Loculation, LTI-02 Acute Lung Injury (ALI) and LTI-03 Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF). Led by a core team experienced in pharmaceutical product development, Lung Therapeutics seeks to move LTI-01 into 2015 clinical trials. For more information, please visit www.lungtx.com
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the potential implications of the Company’s future development plans for LTI-01. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release, and actual results may differ materially from those in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. For a further description of these and other risks facing the Company, please see the risk factors described in the Company’s filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, including those factors discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” in those filings. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise these statements, except as may be required by law.
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