Vantia Therapeutics raises £4 Million to fund clinical development of its lead compounds

Vantia Therapeutics, an emerging pharmaceutical company developing novel, small molecule drugs targeting large areas of unmet medical need, has raised £4 million ($6.5 million) in a series B round. The round was co-led by Novo A/S and SV Life Sciences, and included MVM Life Science Partners, all existing investors in Vantia. The funds have been raised to advance the development of Vantia’s two clinical candidates, VA106483 for nocturia and VA111913 for dysmenorrhoea, both of which are in Phase II trials.

Andrew Crockett, CEO, said: “I am delighted that our investors have committed these further funds to enable us to advance the development of our lead clinical candidates. We believe both these candidates have the potential to be important drugs in patients who currently have limited treatment options.”

Dr Martin Edwards, Senior Partner at Novo Ventures and Chairman of Vantia Therapeutics, said: “Vantia has delivered some very encouraging initial clinical results with its lead programmes and we are pleased to continue supporting the Company as it moves these novel compounds forward.”

An exploratory Phase II trial of VA111913 in the treatment of dysmenorrhoea (painful periods) showed promising evidence of reduced pain levels in patients receiving the drug candidate. VA111913 was well tolerated in the study and statistically significant differences between VA111913 treatment and placebo were seen for a number of efficacy endpoints, including treatment preference, and a trend to efficacy was seen in all other relevant endpoints. The study also identified a significant target population that derived a substantial reduction in period pain from VA111913 treatment.

VA106483 is currently being investigated as a new treatment for nocturia in a 30-patient clinical trial to evaluate the dose-response in men aged over 65 years with benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH). This population forms the largest part of the nocturia market and represents the greatest unmet need. The results of this trial are expected in the second half of 2011 and will be used to support the design of pivotal clinical trials. Data from previous clinical trials, presented at the American Urological Association meeting in 2010, demonstrated a dose-dependent pharmacological effect and suggested that VA106483 has the potential to be an effective and well tolerated antidiuretic for the treatment of nocturia.