Tag Archives: Ysios Capital

Kala Pharmaceuticals gets $22.5M to develop its nanoscale ophthalmic products

Is there an upsurge of business and investment interest in ‘nano’ companies? It certainly seems that way given the plethora of announcements. For no particular reason I’ve picked up on this April 25, 2014 news item on Azonano about Kala Pharameutics, its Mucosal Penetrating Product (MPP) platform, and a successful funding round,

Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading developer of innovative ophthalmic products based on the company’s proprietary Mucus Penetrating Particle (MPP) platform technology, today announced it has completed a $22.5 million Series B financing.

New venture investor Ysios Capital led the round, which also included a new strategic investor, as well as current investors Crown Venture Fund, Lux Capital, Polaris Partners and Third Rock Ventures. In conjunction with the financing, Karen Wagner, Ph.D., General Partner at Ysios Capital, will join Kala’s Board of Directors.

“Leveraging its MPP nanotechnology, Kala has developed topical eye drops that allow therapeutic agents to pass through the mucus layer of the eye’s surface, facilitating penetration into deeper tissues of the eye, including the retina. This approach has yielded game-changing clinical-stage product candidates that may provide more convenient dosing for patients and improve efficacy in a range of ophthalmic indications, including dry eye disease and wet age-related macular degeneration,” said Dr. Wagner. “There is significant demand for breakthrough treatments for ocular diseases and Kala is uniquely poised to address these needs. We look forward to supporting the company’s continued progress.”

An April 23, 2014 Kala Pharmaceuticals news release, which originated the news item, reveals what this round of funding will pay for,

The proceeds from the financing will be used to advance clinical development of the company’s loteprednol etabonate MPP (“LE-MPP”) program. Kala will be initiating four clinical trials with LE-MPP in 2014: a Phase 3 trial in post-operative inflammation and pain following cataract surgery with 1% and 0.25% LE-MPP; a Phase 2 trial with 0.25% LE-MPP in dry eye disease; a Phase 2 trial with 0.25% LE-MPP in inflammatory meibomian gland disease (blepharitis); and an exploratory trial with 1% LE-MPP in diabetic macular edema and retinal vein occlusion to evaluate the ability to treat retinal diseases via topical administration. The company also plans to advance its novel, small molecule receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (RTKi)-MPP for potential first-in-class topical treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) toward candidate selection in 2014.

“We are pleased to welcome Ysios to our team and appreciate the confidence of our new and existing investors during this exciting time for Kala,” said Guillaume Pfefer, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Kala. “Their collective financial and strategic support will allow Kala to advance its pipeline of ophthalmic product candidates while also exploring partnerships to maximize the value of our MPP platform technology for potential indications beyond eye care.”

The company does offer some information about its scientific approach,

The natural barriers that mucosal tissues create in the body largely limits therapeutic efficacy of drugs. By using the company’s technology platform, Kala’s Mucosal Penetrating Products (MPPs) have the unique ability to rapidly and uniformly coat and permeate mucosal tissues, leading to highly effective treatments with improved side effect profiles.
Therapeutics with unique properties for superior efficacy

Kala’s technology can be used to engineer innovative therapies with the size and surface coating properties necessary to dramatically improve drug penetration and retention in mucosal tissues, with the potential for significantly enhanced therapeutic outcomes. Preclinical studies have confirmed that MPPs improved drug retention, enabling greater efficacy at a fraction of the standard therapeutic dose compared to traditional therapies.

A biocompatible therapeutic approach

Kala’s approach enables efficient therapeutic access to mucosal tissues while not disturbing the local microenvironment. The muco-inert feature of the MPPs result in favorable biocompatibility profiles by avoiding of activation of the local immune system and inflammatory cascades. The favorable biocompatibility profile of Kala’s therapies aligns with the importance of maintaining a healthy microbiome while treating an underlying disease with a therapeutic agent.

Technology platform internally focused on ocular diseases with a broad range of other disease applications available for collaboration

Kala Pharmaceuticals is primarily leveraging its proprietary technology platform as an internal product engine with initial drug development efforts focused on developing innovative topical products capable of penetrating mucosal barriers for the treatment of retinal diseases. The company is also pursuing collaborations with partners to transform the therapeutic properties of both marketed drugs and compounds in development for a broad range of disease indications.