Osteal Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held, clinical-stage pharmaceutical company based in Dallas, Texas, has completed an oversubscribed $50 million Series D preferred stock equity financing round.
Osteal Therapeutics Closes $50M Series D Financing
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Zimmer Biomet led the financing round. Concurrent with the financing, a Zimmer Biomet representative will join the Osteal Therapeutics Board of Directors. Zimmer Biomet was joined in the financing by the following returning investors: Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc., the strategic venture capital arm of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies; Gideon Strategic Partners, a Santa Monica-based investment management firm; and HM Capital, a capital management firm.
The financing will be utilized for the advancement and development of the Osteal Therapeutics therapies portfolio. At present, priority will be given to advancing VT-X7. According to the company, VT-X7 is a “novel drug/device combination product designed to deliver therapeutic concentrations of vancomycin and tobramycin, well-established, broad-spectrum antibiotics, directly to the joint space and surrounding tissue to treat PJI [periprosthetic joint infection].”
Osteal Therapeutics Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David Thompson said, “This round of financing represents an inflection point in the company’s progress towards introducing VT-X7 to the market.”
Thompson continued, “From the beginning, Osteal has been extremely fortunate to have the support of a world-class group of financial and strategic partners who share our vision and recognize the tremendous impact our programs will have on patient care. I am delighted to welcome Zimmer Biomet as a partner and look forward to working closely with their exemplary team.”
The funds will be used to submit a New Drug Application for VT-X7. The funds will also be used for the accelerated commercial launch of VT-X7. Per the press release, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has “granted VT-X7 Breakthrough Therapy, Orphan Drug, Fast Track, and Qualified Infectious Disease Product designations.”
According to the press release, VT-X7 has already been “the subject of two multicenter, randomized, controlled trials, APEX and APEX-2.” APEX-2 is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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