Lung Therapeutics Raises $14.3 Million to Develop Treatments for Pulmonary Fibrosis, Other Diseases
Lung Therapeutics announced June 6 that it has completed a $14.3 million Series B financing round to support development of LTI-03, its lead therapy for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). LTI-03 has already showed promising results for other conditions including scleroderma and cardiac fibrosis.
The funds will also support clinical trials, now underway in Australia and New Zealand, for LTI-01, a drug to treat two complications of pneumonia — empyema and complicated parapneumonic effusions. Lung Therapeutics, based in Austin, Texas, licensed the technology that allowed the development of LTI-01 from the University of Texas Health Science Center.
The company has now raised $17 million in total outside funding, which adds to the $27 million in non-dilutive funding already awarded for discovery and development of the two drug candidates, LTI-01 and LTI-03.
“We are pursuing unique, proprietary treatments that eliminate the need for surgery and ineffective off-label drugs for patients with loculated pleural effusion as well as new drugs for fibrosis indications such as IPF, scleroderma and cardiac fibrosis,” CEO Brian Windsor said in a press release. “This brings new hope to a global patient population whose only treatment options are currently limited and expensive. We aim to create better therapeutic options for these and other underserved, life-threatening lung and fibrosis conditions.”
Bios Partners, a venture capital firm investing in early-stage biopharma and medical device companies, led the Series B round along with UT Horizon Fund.
“Lung Therapeutics has developed and licensed a battery of transformative therapeutics for pulmonary disease and fibrosis indications,” said Aaron Fletcher, a member of its board of directors and managing partner of Bios Partners. He noted that Lung Therapeutics has won orphan drug status from both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as well as the European Medicines Agency. “Bios is pleased to invest in Lung Therapeutics’ unique disease-modifying therapeutics. We see tremendous potential in LTI-03’s ability to not only slow progression but potentially resolve fibrosis in numerous model indications.”