Company will use the proceeds to advance BP-GMAX-CD1 into Phase II.
Bellicum Pharmaceuticals secured $4.5 million in a Series A and convertible note funding. The money will be used to complete the company’s ongoing Phase I/IIa trial of BP-GMAX-CD1 in patients with advanced, androgen-independent prostate cancer, and to prepare for Phase IIb trials.
BP-GMAX-CD1, the company’s lead product, is a genetically modified, pharmacologically regulated autologous vaccine. The company anticipates reporting initial results of the Phase I/IIa trial in mid 2010.
The latest financing brings the total raised to date to $8.5 million, including $1.45 million from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund, $6.8 million from angel investors, and additional seed capital from founders. The $6.8 million in angel funding includes $4.3 million as part of the Series A round and $2.5 million as a note convertible into Series A.
“It is particularly gratifying to raise sufficient funds in this challenging economic environment to advance beyond our next significant milestone, which is demonstrating clinical proof of principle for our core vaccine technology,” comments Bellicum CEO, Tom Farrell.
Bellicum Pharmaceuticals is also developing immunotherapeutics for the treatment of chronic infectious diseases. The company’s approach is to control the signaling pathways that regulate the immune response, thereby generating potent, durable antigen-specific immunity.
