PellePharm, a US-based biopharmaceutical company developing treatments for basal cell carcinomas, has closed a $20m series B round led by genetic disease treatment producer BridgeBio Pharma.
The $20m figure represents the round’s third close. BridgeBio Pharma had already provided an undisclosed amount in December 2016 as part of the round, though additional details of that investment have not been disclosed.
Founded in 2012, PellePharm is working on a therapy, named Patidegib, to mitigate basal cell carcinomas, a type of skin cancer that particularly affects patients suffering from a rare genetic skin condition known as Gorlin Syndrome.
Patients currently have to undergo invasive and painful surgery for the disease that often leads to scarring. PellePharm has completed a phase 2 clinical trial, publishing promising results alongside the series B announcement, and is gearing up for another phase 2 as well as a phase 3 trial.
BridgeBio and other existing investors are expected to return for a series C round to support those upcoming studies. PellePharm has secured $23.5m in equity financing to date, it said, though details of its series A round have not emerged.
Frank McCormick, co-founder of BridgeBio, said: “PellePharm continues to demonstrate Patidegib’s potential to expand the treatment landscape for Gorlin Syndrome patients, and we are pleased to see the progress this development candidate is making in the clinic.
“As PellePharm begins discussions with the [US regulator] FDA about initiating a pivotal phase 3 trial, we believe that this financing will help propel the company through this important step forward for both patients and investors.”
PellePharm was co-founded by Ervin Epstein, senior scientist at Children’s Hospital of Oakland Research Institute, with Philip Beachy, professor of biochemistry and developmental biology, and Jean Tang, associate professor of dermatology, at Stanford University.