Advanced NanoTherapies Closes Series A Financing to Support FIH Clinical Study of SirPlux Duo DCB

June 28, 2022—Advanced NanoTherapies, Inc. announced the closing of its oversubscribed $7.2 million Series A equity financing, marking a total of $12.5 million raised since September 2020. The funding comes from various sources in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia.

According to the company, funds will be used to complete the first-in-human (FIH) clinical study in Australia of the SirPlux Duo drug-coated balloon (DCB) in de novo coronary artery disease (CAD) lesions.

The SirPlux Duo DCB combines sirolimus and paclitaxel to create a next-generation, front-line therapy engineered to provide stent-like patency and restenosis prevention while leaving no implant behind. The device delivers low-dose, long-term release of both compounds to inhibit cell growth. The Advanced NanoTherapies nanoparticle drug encapsulation and delivery platform provides safe, reliable, and sustained bioavailability of the two synergistic drugs in tissue, stated the company.

“With the advent of cutting-edge drug delivery platforms, it is no longer acceptable to deliver drugs to arterial tissue using a haphazard, undirected approach,” commented Aloke Finn, MD, in the company’s press release. Dr. Finn, who is the Medical Director and Chief Scientific Officer at CVPath and Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, Maryland, continued, “SirPlux Duo will be the first dual active pharmaceutical ingredient solution to provide a fully targeted, safe, and potent drug delivery option for preventing neointimal growth after coronary and peripheral interventions.”

Mehdi Shishehbor, DO, is Chief Medical Officer of Advanced NanoTherapies. Dr. Shishehbor is President, Harrington Heart and Vascular Institute, University Hospitals Health System, and Professor of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, in Cleveland, Ohio.

“Sirolimus and paclitaxel are both proven drugs in the vascular space, each with unique benefits, limitations, and mechanisms of action,” commented Dr. Shishehbor in the company’s press release. “Preclinical data has shown that using both drugs in combination results in higher antiproliferative potency at lower doses than using each drug independently. The synergistic effects of eluting them simultaneously over long periods may be the key to sustaining patency following interventions.”

Marwan Berrada, Cofounder and CEO of Advanced NanoTherapies, added, “We are excited to close this round as we prepare for clinical testing of the SirPlux Duo DCB in de novo CAD patients. Thank you to everyone involved in helping us reach this important milestone. The Series A funding will allow us to gather FIH clinical data before the end of 2022, a key step to accelerating the paradigm shift of leaving nothing behind in coronary arteries.”