Pharmaceutical firm Sanofi led the first close, achieved yesterday, of a series B round for US-based medical device developer Enable Injections with a $50m target.
Healthcare providers Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Cleveland Clinic have also invested in the round, as did Ohio Innovation Fund, the university venture fund formed by Ohio State University and Ohio University, ORI Healthcare Fund, CincyTech, Cintrifuse and assorted private investors.
Enable Injections has not revealed how much capital it secured in the initial tranche or when it expects to complete the round.
Founded in 2010, Enable Injections has developed a wearable device called EnFuse that allows users to self-administer subcutaneous injections of biologics, a type of drug that is manufactured using living microorganisms, plants or animal cells.
Biologics are used in the treatment of cancers, autoimmune diseases and genetic disorders, but their high dosage and viscosity typically require them to be administered intravenously, making the process expensive and inconvenient for the patient.
The series B funding will help the company scale its clinical production to high-volume commercial manufacturing.
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital previously contributed to a $30m series A round for Enable Injections that was closed in October 2016 and led by ORI Healthcare Fund and backed by Ohio Innovation Fund, CincyTech and Cintrifuse.
Enable Injections had previously received $2m in equity funding in April 2016 and another $2m four months later, according to regulatory filings. Its earlier investors include Partisan Management Group.
The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.
