• Armetheon

  Led · Series A · Aug 2014

  Armetheon is a San Francisco Bay area clinical-stage specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on cardiovascular disease. Its lead candidate, tecarfarin, is a novel vitamin-K-antagonist (VKA) oral anticoagulant designed to avoid adverse drug reactions associated with warfarin. The company intends to use the Series B proceeds to advance tecarfarin through pivotal clinical development. Tecarfarin’s final pivotal study (TACT) is a 3,000-patient, open-label, real-world trial conducted under a Special Protocol Assessment agreed with the FDA in April 2014. The TACT trial will compare tecarfarin with warfarin across indications requiring oral anticoagulation, including underserved populations such as patients who respond poorly to warfarin and patients with prosthetic heart valves. The company is led by M. (Ken) Kengatharan, Ph.D., President and Interim CEO. Armetheon develops mid- to late-stage cardiovascular drug candidates with a focus on oral anticoagulation and atrial fibrillation. Its lead program is Tecarfarin, which is being investigated for all patients who require an oral anticoagulant, including those with mechanical heart valves. Earlier in the year the company reached agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) for the final pivotal trial, TACT, for Tecarfarin. The company raised $7.0m in a Series A financing to support its programs and to keep an NDA filing timeline in 2017 for Tecarfarin. Armetheon was founded in 2011 by M. (Ken) Kengatharan, PhD, who serves as President & COO. The company is based in the San Francisco Bay area.

• Heart Metabolics

  Participated · Series A · Apr 2014

  Heart Metabolics is a Dublin, Ireland–based biotech focused on developing therapies for cardio-metabolic diseases. Its lead product candidate, perhexiline, has completed Phase 2 clinical trials as a treatment for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). The company has obtained FDA orphan designation for perhexiline as a first-line treatment for moderate-to-severe heart failure due to HCM. Heart Metabolics is led by CEO Peter Milner, M.D. The company intends to use the Series A proceeds to acquire a Phase 3–ready drug candidate and related preclinical candidates from U.K. company HMBL Limited (formerly known as Heart Metabolics Limited) and to advance those programs. Heart Metabolics is a London-based biopharma developing therapies to treat heart failure in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, led by lead candidate perhexiline. The company obtained FDA orphan designation in June 2012 for perhexiline as a first-line treatment for moderate-to-severe heart failure due to HCM. It has also in-licensed a new chemical entity from The University of Adelaide for the treatment of heart failure. Heart Metabolics plans to use the Series A capital to advance U.S. clinical development of perhexiline to address heart failure symptoms in HCM patients (recent HCM cases cited include Fabrice Muamba and Alexander Dale Oen). The financing was accompanied by board changes and U.S.-based executive hires, including CEO Peter G. Milner and newly hired Philip N. Sussman (CFO) and Mary K. Pendergast. Founders include Professor Michael Frenneaux and Dr. Houman Ashrafian.

No current team members are available.