Alveron Pharma has announced the closing of a €5 million series seed extension financing—worth approximately US$5.28 million—to advance the development of its innovative drug, OKL-1111, for the treatment of intracranial haemorrhage (ICH). The syndicate behind this funding is led by Broadview Ventures, and features participation from all existing investors, including Sanquin (the Dutch Blood Foundation), Thuja Capital, Waterman Ventures and Oost NL.
“With the support from our syndicate of specialist life science investors, alongside the expertise of our scientific advisory board, we are eager to advance our innovative therapeutic approach and improve patient outcomes,” said Alveron chief executive officer (CEO) Ben Nichols.
Alveron is developing a synthetic anticoagulant and platelet inhibitor reversal agent to prevent haematoma expansion and improve clinical outcomes in patients with ICH.
A press release from the company notes that current therapies for treating ICH patients on anticoagulants have “cumbersome regimens”, resulting in excessive door-to-needle times—often exceeding two hours—which exacerbate poor outcomes for these patients.
OKL-1111 has a universal mode of action by binding to a downstream clotting factor and a unique product profile, enabling administration within 10 minutes of a diagnosing computed tomography (CT) scan, Alveron claims. In addition, the drug reverses the effects of clopidogrel—a major platelet inhibitor, for which there is currently no antidote.
The capital provided from this new financing will enable Alveron to “accelerate important development activities” that support OKL-1111’s readiness for further clinical studies to demonstrate safety and proof-of-concept efficacy in patients, according to the company.
Benjamin Kreitman, principal at Broadview Ventures, commented: “Intracranial haemorrhage remains a severe unmet medical need, and the development of novel treatments to reverse both anticoagulants and platelet inhibitors could deliver a meaningful improvement in the long-term outcomes of ICH patients. As Broadview’s investment strategy is focused on the improvement of human health in the areas of cardiovascular disease and stroke, we are delighted to accelerate this highly innovative approach in this indication of significant unmet need.”
