Bellerophon Therapeutics Completes $7 Million Public Offering to Advance CO-Targeted Pulsed Delivery System

VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) has learned from foreign media that Bellerophon Therapeutics, a company specializing in the treatment of cardiopulmonary diseases, completed a public offering of 10 million shares of common stock last week. The shares were priced at $0.70 each, generating total gross proceeds of $7 million. Additionally, Bellerophon granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase an additional 1.5 million shares of common stock at the same price. Prior to this offering, Bellerophon stated that the proceeds would be used for corporate operations, research and development, and other commercial purposes.

Bellerophon Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company based in Warren, New Jersey, USA, developing innovative therapies to address unmet medical needs in the treatment of cardiopulmonary diseases. Bellerophon is currently developing a carbon monoxide delivery system for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Pulmonary hypertension is an incurable disease. Damage, narrowing, or obstruction of the pulmonary arteries can lead to this condition. Pulmonary hypertension forces the right side of the heart to work harder to pump blood through the narrowed pulmonary arteries. The resulting increased pressure reduces cardiac compliance, thereby impairing the heart’s ability to pump blood through the lungs to the rest of the body, ultimately leading to reduced systemic blood flow.

The U.S. FDA has approved the use of inhaled carbon monoxide for the treatment of persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN). Carbon monoxide is a molecule naturally produced in the vascular endothelium and plays a crucial role in vasodilation and arterial patency. In patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH), when pulmonary vasoconstriction occurs, inhaled carbon monoxide helps relax smooth muscle, leading to dilation or opening of blood vessels in the affected areas, thereby reducing pulmonary blood pressure and alleviating right ventricular strain. The INOpulse delivery system, developed by Bellerophon, provides patients with a continuous flow of carbon monoxide.

The INOpulse delivery system targets the pulse delivery of carbon monoxide, capable of continuous operation for 16 hours. It automatically determines the carbon monoxide dosage based on the patient’s breathing patterns, allowing for prolonged use. Currently, three candidate products have been developed on this platform for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (PH-COPD), pulmonary hypertension associated with sarcoidosis (PH-Sarc), and pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease (PH-ILD). All three candidates have entered Phase II clinical trials.

Notably, the INOpulse delivery system is designed to be portable, roughly the size of a paperback book and weighing approximately 2.5 pounds. It is compatible with a variety of oxygen therapy systems via three types of nasal cannulas. Bellerophon holds exclusive intellectual property rights associated with the INOpulse program.

Bellerophon, founded in 2009, has completed two rounds of financing to date. The first round, closed on December 26, 2013, amounted to $80 million; the second round, its initial public offering (IPO), was completed on May 11, 2017, raising $3 million.

(Compiled by Wang Chan)