Pharma

Celator Pharmaceuticals raising $5 million for cancer treatments

Celator Pharmaceuticals, a drug development company, is raising $5 million as its drug therapy for […]

Celator Pharmaceuticals, a drug development company, is raising $5 million as its drug therapy for acute myeloid leukemia moves through phase 2 clinical trials.

In its latest financing round, the company, which has offices in Princeton, New Jersey and Vancouver, British Columbia, has raised $2.57 million of its $5 million target through equity, options and securities. It counts Quaker BioVentures, Ventures West, Domain Associates and GrowthWorks among its 10 investors. It also receives funding from The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Last year, Celator raised $20 million in its series D financing round.

CPX-351 was given orphan drug status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which gives the developer seven years market exclusivity in the U.S., as well as the potential for priority review and certain tax credits.

The Celator’s approach to cancer treatment is based on a synergistic ratio of drugs to improve tumor cell kill and locks the synergistic ratio in a drug-delivery vehicle to maintain the ratio in patients, according to its website. The goal is to boost the therapeutic benefit these drugs give patients.

Earlier this month, Celator announced positive clinical data in first-relapse patients with acute myeloid leukemia treated with CPX-351 liposome injection at the American Society of Hematology annual meeting in San Diego, California. The findings of the randomized phase 2b clinical study showed a statistically significant benefit in overall survival favoring CPX-351 in patients who had an unfavorable risk profile, according to a press statement from the company.

“This is the first public disclosure of our clinical results in first-relapse AML, and we are pleased to see that these positive data further build on promising findings reported at last year’s ASH meeting,” said Scott Jackson, Celator Pharmaceuticals CEO, in the Dec. 12 statement. “We believe the preponderance of positive phase 2 data in both newly diagnosed and first-relapse AML patients increases the likelihood of success in pivotal testing and will help us further accelerate the program toward registration.”

Celator’s pipeline also includes a treatment for colorectal cancer, CPX-1, currently in phase 2 clinical trials, and a preclinical stage compound for small cell lung cancer, CPX-571. Its nanoparticle delivery system, developed in conjunction with Princeton University, is in early stage research.

The company was founded as a spinoff of the British Columbia Cancer Agency.

 

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