Friday, April 10, 2009

Marinus Pharma finds $20M in second funding round

By Marc Songini

Branford, Conn.-based Marinus Pharmaceuticals Inc. has closed a $20 million Series B financing to help fund the development of epilepsy treatment.

Marinus develops drugs to treat neurological and psychiatric disorders. This week, the company announced the Series B round, which it will use to promote its ganaxolone development program. The drug is used to treat patients with refractory partial seizures -- these are patients that use multiple anti-convulsant drugs but still have seizures. It will also use the funds to investigate proof of concept studies in psychiatric indications.

The Series B financing saw contributions from Marinus’ existing investors, including Canaan Partners, Domain Associates, Sofinnova Ventures and Foundation Medical Partners. In total, Marinus has raised a total of $50 million in private funds to date.

The company also pointed out in a statement that it had recently announced positive Phase 2a data for ganaxolone to treat adults with partial onset seizures. According to John Krayacich, president and CEO of Marinus, the company has made “tremendous strides” since its Series A financing. These include completing two Phase 2a clinical trials for ganaxolone in two separate indications.

Ganaxolone is a synthetic neurosteroid and a derivative of the neuromodulator allopregnanolone. It has been given to more than 950 healthy adult volunteers and patients in more than 35 Phase 1 and Phase 2 studies. Early epilepsy studies that included 100 patients demonstrated the efficacy and safety of ganaxolone in the treatment of both children and adults suffering from refractory forms of epilepsy. Marinus has developed several proprietary formulations of ganaxolone.