Armetheon raises $7 million in first round of financing

Aug 28 2014

Armetheon, Inc. (www.armetheon.com), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel mid- to late-stage cardiovascular drug candidates, today announced that it has raised $7.0 million in its first round of financing. The Series A round was co-led by AshHill Biomedical Investments and Hercules Bioventures with participation from investors that included Atheneos Capital and eminent biotech entrepreneur and pharmaceutical executive, Dr. Larry Hsu, the founder of Impax Laboratories.

Earlier this year the company reached agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) for the final pivotal trial, TACT (Tecarfarin for AntiCoagulation Trial), for Tecarfarin, which is being investigated for all patients who require an oral anticoagulant (OAC), including patients with mechanical heart valves (MHV). Recent clinical guidelines from AHA/ACC recommend the use of a vitamin-K antagonist (VKA) for anticoagulation in patients with a MHV. The guidelines also recommend MHV over bioprosthetic heart valves for patients who are less than 60 years of age. The results from already completed clinical trials and TACT will form the basis of regulatory submission for Tecarfarin.

"The quality of our science and the team is reflected by the stellar syndicate of both institutional and angel investors in this over-subscribed Series A round," said M. (Ken) Kengatharan, PhD, Co-Founder, President & COO.

"The funds will be used to keep to our NDA filing timeline in 2017 for Tecarfarin," said Peter Milner MD, FACC Co-Founder and Chairman of Armetheon. "Tecarfarin, if approved, could become an important alternative VKA that is not metabolized via CYP enzymes or handled by P-glycoprotein.Studies have shown that existing OACs, including warfarin, interact with CYP-metabolizing enzymes or P-glycoprotein." Milner previously co-founded both CV Therapeutics and ARYx Therapeutics, and currently serves as CEO of Heart Metabolics Ltd (Ireland).