Pharma

Nasal spray osteoporosis drug firm raising $2.4 million in new round

A company with a nasal spray formulation to treat osteoporosis is raising $2.4 million as […]

A company with a nasal spray formulation to treat osteoporosis is raising $2.4 million as it  seeks to move its treatment through clinical trials, according to a Form D filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Azelon Pharmaceuticals’ teriparatide nasal spray had undergone  initial human safety and pharmacology studies as of October.

The latest fundraising move follows a successful series A round in which it received $4.5 million from three venture capital firms to advance the drug through phase 2 clinical trials.

The West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania company has said few alternatives are available to patients seeking anabolic treatments to build new bone and its drug will offer an alternative to Eli Lilly & Co.’s drug Forteo, delivered through an injection.

Last year, the company formerly known as Zelos Therapeutics underwent a management restructure. Don Hayden was appointed executive chairman and Joan Lau was named president and CEO. Lau succeeded Brian MacDonald.

Lau had previously served as CEO of Locus Pharmaceuticals, a venture-backed drug-discovery company, and had worked at Merck. Hayden had worked at Bristol Myers-Squibb for 25 years, most recently as executive vice president and president, Americas.

With the baby boomer population at retirement age, the osteoporosis market is viewed as a substantial market to tap. A National Institutes of Health estimate puts the number of people with or at high risk for osteoporosis in the United States at more than 40 million.

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