AM-Pharma, the Netherlands-based acute kidney injury therapy developer backed by pharmaceutical firm AbbVie, has collected €116m ($130m) from a consortium co-led by venture capital firm LSP and investment firm Andera Partners.
The round featured VC firms Forbion Capital Partners, Ysios Capital, Kurma Partners and Idinvest Partners, as well as VC fund BB Pureos Bioventures and healthcare-focused private equity firm Gilde Healthcare.
Founded in 2001, AM-Pharma is commercialising a drug candidate for acute kidney injury, a potentially lethal condition involving loss of kidney function that often presents as a symptom of serious illnesses such as sepsis.
There are currently no approved pharmacological treatments for the disease, and AM-Pharma’s asset, RecAP, has been awarded fast-track designation by US regulator Food and Drug Administration.
The drug, which contains a recombinant human alkaline phosphatase, achieved a 40% relative reduction in patient mortality during phase 2 trials. However it missed the primary objective of improving short-term kidney function.
The supply of fresh capital will help launch a 12-country phase 3 study of RecAP in acute kidney injuries linked to sepsis, following which AM-Pharma expects to file for market authorisation in the US and Europe.
The compound could also be adapted for other gastrointestinal-related indications.
The round increased AM-Pharma’s funding total to approximately $287m. Pharmaceutical firm Pfizer invested $87.5m in 2015 in a deal providing an acquisition option on AM-Pharma upon the completion of phase 2 trials.
AM-Pharma had attracted $15.8m in series E funding the previous year from investors led by Gilde Healthcare and including AbbVie, Idinvest Partners, Biotech Ventures, Biofund, Kurma Partners, Ysios Capital and Inventages, a fund manager formed with support from food and beverage group Nestlé.
The company’s $37.7m series D round three years before included Inventages, Idinvest, Ysios Capital, Kurma Partners, Forbion and BB Biotech Ventures, with the latter a precursor fund to BB Pureos Bioventures.