SoftOx Solutions has announced a restructuring plan that includes shutting down its own GMP facility, laying off employees, and outsourcing further development of its SoftOx inhalation solution (SIS) to the University of Copenhagen. The company said that it would retain ownership of the IP and the commercial rights.
In May 2022, SoftOx announced Phase 1 results for the hypochlorous acid inhalation solution, which it is developing for the treatment of respiratory infections. In addition, a subsidiary of SoftOx is developing the inhalation solution as a countermeasure against biological attacks in a project funded by the European Defense Fund. The company’s pipeline also includes topical formulations of hypochlorous acid for wound care, which it said it plans to divest.
The agreement is conditional on the company raising sufficient funds. According to the announcement, the military project will be funded by existing grants, and the civilian project will be funded by SoftOx Solutions, which said that it has recently raised NOK 9 million and has plans for raising NOK 20 to 50 million in a second round.
SoftOx Solutions Executive Chairman Geir Almås said, “This raise of funds, a material change of strategy including a considerable reduction of burn rate, expected further grants and prepaid assets ready for sale, is expected to fully finance the company’s future product development both for the military and the civil markets.”
He added, “At the University of Copenhagen we find some of the best researchers in the world within the field of antimicrobial resistance and chronic infections. This partnership is a big step towards our goal of developing the future solutions for treatment of virucidal infections in the respiratory tract and infections in chronic wounds.”
Read the SoftOx Solutions press release.
