US-based rare disease drug developer Palvella Therapeutics has completed a $45m series C round featuring biopharmaceutical company Ligand Pharmaceuticals.
The corporate joined CAM Capital, Samsara BioCapital, BVF Partners, Adams Street Partners, Opaleye Management, Agent Capital, BioAdvance and Nolan Capital in the round. Scott Morenstein from CAM Capital and Cory Freedland at Samsara are set to join Palvella’s board of directors.
Palvella is targeting rare genetic diseases for which no approved treatments are available, forming partnerships with patient advocacy organisations and basing its work on information from their patient registries.
The company’s lead product candidate, PTX-022, is a potential treatment for a debilitating genetic disease known as pachyonychia congenita which affects an estimated 9,000 patients in the US.
Palvella is also preparing to enter a second candidate, PTX-367, into a late-stage clinical study for a disease called Gorlin syndrome, where a mutation in a tumour suppressor gene called PTCH1 causes malignant skin cancers known as basal cell carcinomas to develop.
The round triggered a $3m milestone payment from Palvella to Ligand that consisted of $2m in cash and $1m in stock. Ligand had previously supplied $10m for the company in December 2018 through a development funding and royalties agreement.
Wes Kaupinen, Palvella’s president and CEO, said: “Palvella was founded on fundamental beliefs that every individual with a rare disease deserves a treatment and that significant value creation occurs upon the introduction of the first approved therapy for a serious rare genetic disease.
“The capital invested from this highly regarded syndicate of public market and venture investors strengthens our team’s unwavering commitment to develop and commercialise targeted therapies to individuals suffering from serious, life-altering rare genetic diseases such as pachyonychia congenita and Gorlin syndrome.”
