Accele Venture Partners co-led $4.1M Series A private equity financing of Otologic Pharmaceutics

Apr 3 2014

Accele Venture Partners, the investing arm of life sciences accelerator Accele Biopharma, Inc., announced today that it has co-led a $4.1 million Series A private equity financing of Otologic Pharmaceutics, Inc. (OPI), a development-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to developing and commercializing novel pharmacological solutions and approaches to treat hearing disorders. Accele Venture Partners co-led the Series A with i2E, Inc., a nationally recognized private not-for-profit corporation focused on growing innovative small businesses in Oklahoma.  Other investors included the Oklahoma Life Science Fund.  Proceeds of the Series A financing will be used to advance the development of OPI's lead product candidate, NHPN-1010, for the treatment of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL), which is expected to enter Phase 1 clinical testing in the first half of 2014.

In connection with the financing Accele Biopharma's Chairman and CEO Clayton I. Duncan has been appointed as OPI's CEO, replacing David Karlman in this position.  Additional members of the OPI senior management team include: Richard Gammans, Ph.D., also of Accele Biopharma and recently appointed to the newly created positions of OPI's Chief Operating Officer and Head of R&D; OPI Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer Richard Kopke, M.D.; Company Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer Robert Floyd, Ph.D., and Kelle Jones, Vice President-Finance.

Mr. Duncan stated, "Accele is dedicated to supporting groundbreaking approaches to improve human healthcare, and we believe OPI's programs have the potential to address substantial unmet needs for patients with hearing loss.  Currently, there are no FDA-approved drugs on the market for hearing loss, and OPI's lead product candidate, combining two well-characterized compounds, has shown promising activity in reducing hearing loss in IND-enabling preclinical studies.  Applications may include hearing loss experienced by individuals in a number of occupations, such as construction and manufacturing, as well as those who have served our country in military service, in addition to hearing loss associated with cancer treatments, such as cisplatin."

Mr. Duncan added, "I am excited to join the OPI team and also am grateful for the service of David Karlman and for the progress the Company has made in advancing its lead program toward the clinic."

Mr. Duncan has over 20 years' experience as a biopharmaceutical CEO, heading seven biopharmaceutical companies - Synereca Pharmaceuticals, Vindica Therapeutics, Ercole Biotech, Entegrion, Incara Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Sphinx Pharmaceuticals Corporation and CRX Medical.  As a CEO, Mr. Duncan has raised over $150 million in venture and public capital markets, including two successful IPOs, and has built operational biopharmaceutical companies from initiation, negotiating seven R & D collaborations with major pharmaceutical and biotech companies and profitable exits through the sale of three biopharmaceutical companies.

Dr. Gammans has managed a broad array of product development activities, including market evaluation, clinical research, biometrics, regulatory affairs and manufacturing.  He has extensive experience in supporting investor relations and business development efforts and more than 30 years' experience in all aspects of drug R&D and scientific support of marketed products.  He has contributed to the development and regulatory approval of seven new molecular entities with over 50 national marketing authorizations in Western Europe and North America, including seven approved United States NDAs.

SOURCE Accele Biopharma, Inc.