by theravasc | Dec 30, 2009 | Press Releases
TheraVasc Inc., which is reformulating a drug to treat vascular diseases, has raised $1.8 million in its first round of investment capital. The funding comes from existing investors JumpStart Inc. and Portal Capital, and new investors North Coast Angel Fund, Ohio TechAngels and Dayton-based Physician Investment Group. In addition, more than a dozen individual investors ponied up, CEO Tony Giordano said. But Giordano isn’t stopping there. He’s keeping the offering open through the end of the year in the hopes of raising another $450,000. His company began the round in January, winning $500,000 from venture development organization JumpStart and Portal Capital. The funding will go toward an ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial and a Phase 2a trial that Giordano hopes to begin in Cleveland early next year. The company is reformulating a drug — sodium nitrite — for the treatment of peripheral artery disease (PAD), a condition in which narrowed arteries reduce blood flow to the limbs. The condition often afflicts diabetics and can result in the amputation of patients’ feet. The disease is being treated with blood clot-busting drugs, but what sufferers need is better blood circulation. “There’s just nothing out there for many of these people,” Giordano said. “They have severe pain when they walk ,and they’re desperate for something.” Sodium nitrite is available in injectable form, but TheraVasc is working to commercialize the drug in pill form. A capsule or tablet would not only be more user-friendly, it would allow for a sustained release that’d help patients maintain adequate levels of the drug over time. The Phase 1 trial started in July and has completed the...
