vasopharm Gmbh has raised €20 million of new capital, which it intends to use to fully fund a pivotal, European phase III study of its product, VAS 203, in patients with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury.
The financing was co-led by existing investors, Entrepreneurs Fund and Heidelberg Capital Private Equity, as well as a new investor, the UK-based Fort Rock Capital. The round of funding was also supported by existing investors, Bayern Kapital, and funds advised by Hanseatic Asset Management LBG. Mario Alberti, venture partner at Fort Rock Capital, will be joining the Board of the company as a non-executive director.
Christian Wandersee, chief executive officer of vasopharm, comments, “TBI is a very challenging indication which has proven intractable to all previous pharmacological intervention. We have been extremely rigorous in analysis of our Phase II data and believe that, in VAS203, we have a drug which will provide physicians with a real opportunity to improve long-term outcomes in this devastating condition.”
VAS203 phase II results demonstrated statistically significant improvements to both short term (therapy intensity level) and long term (extended Glasgow Outcome Scale, six months and 12 months) measures of treatment efficacy. Following interaction with the European Medicines Agency (EMA), vasopharm has designed a phase III registration study in Europe which, if successful, would lead to regulatory submission of VAS203 for the treatment of moderate and severe TBI. VAS203 has been granted orphan drug status for the treatment of moderate to severe TBI by the EMA. All preparatory groundwork for the clinical trial has been finalised over the last 12 months and the “first patient in” is expected in H1 2016.
P+P Pollath + Partners, Munich provided legal advice to the company; Jones Day, Munich to the investor Entrepreneurs Fund and funds advised by Hanseatic Asset Management LBG, Hogan Lovells, Frankfurt to new Investor Fort Rock Capital and Weitnauer Rechtsanwaelte, Munich to Bayern Kapital.
