Marseille (France), 25 November 2009 - Pharmaxon, a biotechnology company that develops first-inclass neurological disease therapeutics targeting cell mobility, announced a capital increase of €1.7 million from Primaveris and the Lyon-based mutual insurance company, SHAM. This decision was approved at Pharmaxon’s annual general meeting on 28 September 2009.After a first seed funding round of €440,000 (Inserm Transfert, Initiative, Esperante and Primaveris), together with €2.3 million in grants and public financing, the company raised a total of about €4.4 million since its inception.
This operation will mainly help Pharmaxon to finance the preclinical development of PR-21, its most advanced compound.
PR-21 is a cell mobility activator which is being developed to treat acute spinal cord injury. This orphan disease is currently only treated with corticoids whose side effects are unanimously recognized. By using PR-21, the final objective is to restore motivity and autonomic functions by speeding up the regrowth of axons.
After the validation of the proof-of-principle, PR-21 is now being assessed within the scope a preclinical toxicology study. The compound is expected to move into clinical development phase by January 2011...
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About Pharmaxon
Founded in 2004, Pharmaxon is a biotechnology company that develops first-in-class drugs based on the manipulation of cell mobility.
Pharmaxon's therapeutic targets contribute to the movements and the survival of neurons and are for this reason implied in many diseases and neurological cancers. Thus, the compounds of the company cover a large range of potential indications addressing a total market of several billion euros in neurology and oncology The pioneering work of Pharmaxon’s founding scientists and team has uncovered a new pharmacological mechanism modulating – either stimulating or inhibiting – cell mobility. This therapeutic approach has lead to the identification of two families of compounds having such abilities: cell mobility activators that target Acute Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) and cell mobility inhibitors targeting Glioblastoma Multiforma (GBM), a brain tumors with poor prognosis.
After reaching “proof-of-principle”, Pharmaxon’s first SCI candidate, PR-21, is now undergoing
regulatory preclinical toxicity studies.
Thanks to the potential of its therapeutic approach, its international scientific network and its R&D know-how, Pharmaxon aims to become the leader in the cell mobility neurological field.
Pharmaxon is based in Marseille, France, and now has a staff of 9 scientists, including six with
Pharm.D. or Ph.D. degrees... [PDF] Pharmaxon's Press Release -
