Satsuma Pharmaceuticals, a spin out from Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories (SNBL) has closed a $12 million Series A financing co-led by RA Capital Management and TPG Biotech, the company said. Proceeds will be used to fund development of the company’s STS101 dihydroergotamine (DHE) intranasal dry powder for the treatment of migraines.
In 2013, SNBL announced that it had licensed the DHE nasal powder to Transcept Pharmaceuticals, which merged with Paratek Pharmaceuticals the following year.
Satsuma Pharmaceuticals Co-founder, President and CEO John Kollins said, “We look forward to building upon the strong technology foundation established by our colleagues at SNBL over the past 15 years, expeditiously advancing development of STS101, and making STS101 available to migraine sufferers.”
RA Capital Portfolio Manager and Managing Director Rajeev Shah commented, “Many migraine sufferers are underserved with current therapies, and we believe the market for migraine therapeutics is poised for significant growth. We believe Satsuma Pharmaceuticals and STS101 are well-positioned to deliver meaningful clinical benefits to patients with a highly-differentiated, best-in-class product that will be a valued addition to physicians’ anti-migraine armamentarium.”
TPG Biotech Partner and Managing Director Heath Lukatch added, “Our diligence indicates physicians and migraine sufferers strongly desire a fast-acting, effective, non-injected DHE product with the profile and attributes we anticipate STS101 will have. We look forward to working with Satsuma and SNBL to support development of STS101 and potentially additional products that utilize SNBL’s unique dry-powder nasal formulation and delivery technology to address significant unmet patient needs.”
Both Shah and Lukatch have joined the Satsuma Pharmaceuticals board of directors
Read the Satsuma Pharmaceuticals press release.
