Bexion Pharmaceuticals Secures $16.6M in Series B Funding to Advance BXQ-350, a Novel Nanovesicle Therapy with Potential Anti-Tumor Activity

VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) has learned that Bexion Pharmaceuticals recently announced it had met its $16.6 million Series B preferred stock financing target and increased the total amount raised in this round to $25 million. The investors were not disclosed. The proceeds from this financing will be used to advance clinical trials of the company’s BXQ-350 nanovesicles and to initiate two additional clinical trials. Following the completion of this financing round, Bexion will secure more than $48 million in private investment funding provided by the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI), as well as over $6 million in non-dilutive funding.

Bexion, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, was founded in 2006 in Covington, Kentucky, USA. The company is dedicated to developing BXQ-350 nanovesicles, an innovative drug candidate for pediatric patients with brain tumors and rare solid tumors. BXQ-350 nanovesicles are an agent composed of the multifunctional lysosome-activating protein Saposin C and phosphatidylserine. Unlike any other potential therapeutic currently under development, BXQ-350 nanovesicles exhibit potential antitumor activity.

In 2004, researchers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center discovered and reported the anticancer activity of BXQ-350 nanovesicles. Bexion Pharmaceuticals obtained a license from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center to further develop and ultimately commercialize BXQ-350 nanovesicles. In July 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Bexion Pharmaceuticals to conduct Phase I clinical trials of BXQ-350 nanovesicles for the targeted treatment of solid tumors and glioblastoma.

In early 2019, Bexion Pharmaceuticals sequentially initiated Part 1 and Part 2 of Phase I clinical trials of BXQ-350 nanovesicles in pediatric patients with brain tumors and rare solid tumors. The trials demonstrated that BXQ-350 nanovesicles were well tolerated across all five tested dose levels, with no dose-limiting toxicities observed and no serious adverse events attributed to the study. Part 2 of the trial evaluated the highest dose in an additional 36 patients with solid tumors, and preliminary data indicated that BXQ-350 nanovesicles had a favorable safety and tolerability profile.

Currently, Bexion is recruiting volunteers for the Phase I, Part 3 clinical trial of BXQ-350 nanovesicles. This trial aims to determine the maximum tolerated dose of BXQ-350 nanovesicles and to evaluate their safety and pharmacokinetic profile for the treatment of gastrointestinal tumors.

Dr. Ray Takigiku, Founder and CEO of Bexion Pharmaceuticals, stated, “We are deeply grateful to all our investors, whose tangible support underscores the potential of BXQ-350 nanovesicles as a novel therapeutic approach for brain tumors and solid tumors. We will leverage this round of financing to expand our clinical programs.”

Notably, in addition to their potential antitumor activity, BXQ-350 nanovesicles can also serve as diagnostic imaging agents and tumor-targeted drug delivery vehicles for antisense anticancer therapeutics such as siRNA. Bexion Pharmaceuticals announced that it would initiate a Phase II clinical trial in adults with glioblastoma multiforme in late 2019.

(Compiled by Li Chengping)