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OrphoMed Secures $39 Million to Develop IBS-D Treatment
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OrphoMed Inc. completed a $39 million Series A financing, the capital of which they will use to accelerate clinical development of its lead candidate, ORP-101, a peripherally acting dimer, for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea, according to a press release.
“There are only a couple of drugs approved for the treatment of IBS-D, each with its own specific limitations, either regarding safety or efficacy,” Kenneth Widder, MD, OrphoMed’s executive chairman, said in the release. “There still are a significant number of patients who cannot be treated with existing approved drugs. As such, we feel there is a large opportunity to bring forward a drug which circumvents the limitations of those drugs currently on the market.”
The Series A financing round, led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA), will allow the company to advance development of this potential treatment of IBS-D. ORP-101, a metabolically stable, partial agonist of the mu opioid receptor and antagonist of the kappa opioid receptor, alleviates abdominal pain due to intestinal hyperalgesia and gastric hypermotility associated with IBS-D without CNS penetration. Prior study in animal models has shown that ORP-101 consistently suppresses general and colon-specific hyperalgesic signals without causing constriction of the sphincter of Oddi, which can occur with other mu agonists.
“This is an exciting opportunity driven by a lead candidate with a proven mechanism of action, a large underserved patient population, and a results-oriented team with recent drug development success,” Frank Torti, MD, partner at NEA said. “We are thrilled to partner with the OrphoMed team as they work to bring ORP-101 to patients in need.”
Disclosures: Widder is an executive chairman at OrphoMed. Torti is a partner at New Enterprise Associates.