Lung Therapeutics Secures $14.3 Million Series B Financing to Advance Novel Therapies for Fibrotic and Pulmonary Diseases

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that Lung Therapeutics, a company based in Austin, Texas, USA, recently announced the completion of a $14.3 million Series B financing round. The round was led by Bios Partners, with participation from existing investor UT Horizon Fund. Including previous funding, Lung Therapeutics’ total capital raised amounts to $17 million.

Lung Therapeutics is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical startup focused on developing innovative drugs and therapies for fibrosis, lung injury, and other pulmonary diseases. This round of financing will support the company’s ongoing LTI-01 clinical trials in Australia and New Zealand, and further advance the development of its anti-fibrotic drug candidate, LTI-03.

Pneumonia is a common condition that can be treated with either traditional Chinese medicine or Western medicine. With timely treatment, the prognosis is generally favorable; however, a small number of patients may develop parapneumonic pleural effusion due to delayed intervention. This condition involves fluid accumulation in the lungs and pleural cavity, leading to dyspnea. In severe cases, the pleural fluid may become infected, resulting in empyema. Typically, management involves drainage of the fluid combined with antibiotic therapy.

However, in some cases, fibrotic scar tissue proliferates within the pleural cavity, causing pleural effusion to become trapped by these tissues and unable to drain effectively. This condition is known as encapsulated pleural effusion.

Current treatment options for these diseases include thoracoscopic adhesiolysis, pleurectomy, and others.

However, the surgery itself can cause many side effects, including bleeding and infection. Moreover, many patients are unable to undergo surgical treatment due to poor physical condition.

LTI-01is an innovative injectable drug designed to eliminate fibrotic tissue. It is a zymogen that can be gradually activated in the pleural cavity to clear fibrotic tissue. LTI-01 is used to treat two complications of pneumonia: empyema and complicated parapneumonic effusion (CPE). The company has recently commenced Phase 1a clinical trials at multiple sites in Australia and New Zealand. Lung Therapeutics estimates that more than 100,000 patients in the United States could benefit from LTI-01 treatment each year.

LTI-03 is a drug for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). IPF is a chronic lung disease that develops due to factors such as underlying lung conditions, lung injury, or genetics. The five-year mortality rate for this condition is 80%.¹

Currently, LTI-03 has received public and private funding to conduct clinical trials. Additionally, studies have shown that LTI-03 may also be used in the treatment of other fibrotic diseases, including scleroderma, renal fibrosis, and cardiac fibrosis.

Dr. Stien Idell, the company’s co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer, is a renowned internist and pulmonologist with 30 years of experience in clinical practice and academic research.

He has held positions at the Intensive Care Unit of Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia and at the Texas Lung Injury Institute of the University of Texas Health Science Center. Currently, in addition to continuing to treat patients with lung injury in his clinical practice, Idell is also pursuing his academic research in the laboratory.

Dr. Idell’s research team includes associate professors, senior researchers, graduate students, and laboratory technicians. He currently serves as Vice Chair for Research, Professor of Medicine, and Consultant for the Treatment of Pulmonary Fibrosis at the Institute for Lung Injury. Over the past 30 years, Dr. Idell has successively secured $27 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

In one of the funded projects, he served as Principal Investigator, leading research on the role of the fibrinolytic system in the pathogenesis of lung and pleural diseases. This R&D initiative spurred the development of the drug candidates LTI-01 and LTI-03 and led to the establishment of Lung Therapeutics. To date, Dr. Idell has published more than 150 research articles on lung injury and pulmonary diseases, and is recognized by both clinical and academic communities as a key opinion leader in the field.

Dr. Windsor, the Company’s CEO, has been engaged in management within life science and technology enterprises for the past 18 years. Previously, Dr. Windsor served as President of Enavail LLC, a company specializing in the manufacture of specialized pharmaceuticals. During his tenure at Enavail, Dr. Windsor oversaw all aspects of drug development, including drug selection, regulatory strategy, preclinical and clinical strategies, GMP manufacturing, and strategic partnerships for pharmaceutical products.

Source

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lung-therapeutics-inc-raises-143-million-series-b-financing-to-treat-unmet-needs-in-lung-disease-and-fibrosis-300469033.html；

http://lungtx.com/