Sweden-based biopharmaceutical company OxThera has secured SEK 70m ($10.6m) in funding from a syndicate of new investors including US-based not-for-profit medical practice Mayo Clinic, as well as existing backers.
The syndicate was led by life sciences-focused venture capital firm Kurma Partners and also included investment firm IdInvest Partners.
OxThera did not disclose whether all its existing investors took part in the round, but they include medical device producer Q-Med, HealthCap, Industrifonden and Scandinavian Life Science Venture. In total, OxThera has now raised SEK 385m ($58.4m) in equity funding and SEK 39m ($5.9m) from a rights issue for its Oxabact drug in 2012.
The company will use the funding to support a Phase 2 clinical study it is currently conducting for Oxabact, which is being developed to treat hyperoxaluria, a disorder that can cause damage and calcification of the kidneys.
In addition to the financing, Khalid Islam, formerly the chairman & CEO of pharmaceutical company Gentium, will join OxThera’s board.