The proceeds from the round will aid in the development of Aurase Wound Gel and move it towards further phase 2 clinical trials
Aurase Wound Gel is a hydrogel that contains an enzyme cloned from medical maggots. (Credit: Solascure Limited)
UK-based biotechnology company SolasCure has raised £10.9m ($13.3m) in a Series B investment round to support the development of its Aurase Wound Gel product.
According to the company, Aurase Wound Gel is a hydrogel that contains an enzyme cloned from medical maggots. The investigational product, the first for SolasCure, aims to accelerate wound debridement.
The Series B round was led by Seneca Partners. It also included industry veterans, institutional venture and strategic investors like BRAIN Biotech, Jonathan Milner, EVA Pharma, and Wealth Club.
In a Series A round held in August 2021, SolasCure raised £15m, which included investments from BRAIN Biotech and Seneca Partners.
Seneca Partners investment director Matthew Currie said: “We are delighted to continue to support SolasCure through its latest funding round, following the impressive progress and positive results to date shown by the Aurase Wound Gel.
“We recognise great potential in the Company and support its mission to develop a potentially disruptive medical product that could displace its main competitor and achieve global commercial market success.”
SolasCure said that the wound debriding enzyme is set to enter further phase 2 efficacy-supporting trials.
The pre-clinical trial results of Aurase Wound Gel backed the use of the new enzymatic debridement product for use in chronic wounds.
According to SolasCure, the enzyme showed a good safety profile locally as well as systemically, which is expected to open a large therapeutic window. The results have enabled the UK-based firm to test the enzyme on real patients with ulcers under regulatory review.
The planned clinical trials will have a larger and more diverse group of patients in comparison to the phase 2a safety study of the wound gel candidate.
SolasCure, which is a spin-off from BRAIN Biotech, anticipates that the findings will show the potential of its technology in the treatment of patients with chronic wounds.
SolasCure founder and CEO Sam Bakri said: “We would like to thank investors in our Series B round for continuing to support us as we progress our clinical development programme and focus on developing the efficacy of Aurase Wound Gel.
“We are excited to be working with such an experienced team, whose specialist knowledge is greatly valued in our mission to support healthcare professionals with wound care products that significantly improve outcomes for patients with chronic wounds.”
Recently, the biotechnology company finished the CLEANVLU proof-of-concept first-in-human phase 2a safety study that assessed the use of the Aurase Wound Gel in chronic venous leg ulcer subjects.