Thursday, November 20, 2008

Radius Health lands extra $15M in second Series C round

By Mass High Tech Staff

Radius Health Inc. has pulled in $15 million to add to its total Series C financing of $82.5 million, increasing the Cambridge drug discovery firm’s total investment to $106.5 million, Radius officials reported. The latest investment round included all the returning backers, led by MPM Bio IV NVS Strategic Fund, as well as The Wellcome Trust, MPM Capital, Oxford Bioscience Partners, HealthCare Ventures, BB Biotech Ventures and Scottish Widows Investment Partnership.

The funding will support clinical and preclinical developments, the company said. Radius anticipates Phase 2 clinical trial results of its osteoporosis treatment, BA058, early next year. The treatment is designed to build new bone for the treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women, according to the company. The Phase 1 clnical trials of Radius’ treatment for hot flashes, called RAD1901, began early this year and is expected to follow with a Phase 2a study in early 2009. The company also reported that it plans to file in the first half of next year an investigational new drug application for its SARM muscle loss treatment.

In September 2007, Radius struck a deal with Swiss drug giant Novartis AG, involving its osteoporosis drug candidate, that could bring the company more than $500 million. The deal would enable Novartis to gain the rights to develop and market Radius’ BA058 in all countries outside of Japan.