Ascendis Pharma Closed €48M for an Innovative Weekly Hormone Injection

Ascendis

Ascendis Pharma, a biotechnology company that applies its innovative TransCon technology to address significant unmet medical needs, raised €48 million for a Serie D financing. 

This financing is expected to be used to fund late-stage clinical trials of TransCon Growth Hormone for the treatment of growth hormone deficiency (GHD). Growth hormone deficiency, is a serious orphan disease affecting both children and adults which results in a poor quality of life. The current standard of care for the treatment requires patients to receive daily injections over many years. The administrative burden of daily injections often results in poor patient compliance and can lead to suboptimal treatment outcomes.

That is why, Ascendis Pharma is developing a once-weekly TransCon Growth Hormone. It is a prodrug that releases unmodified growth hormone, thus maintaining the same mode of action as currently prescribed daily growth hormone therapies. Clinical studies have demonstrated a comparable efficacy, safety, tolerability and immunogenic profile to that of daily growth hormone.

The financing was co-led by U.S.-based Sofinnova Ventures, OrbiMed and Vivo Capital, and included Janus Capital Management LLC, Venrock, RA Capital Management, Rock Springs Capital and Sectoral Asset Management. The company’s largest existing shareholder, Paris-based Sofinnova Partners, also participated in the financing.

“We are pleased to have some of the world’s leading healthcare investors participate in our Series D financing, join our board of directors and demonstrate their support for our technology platform and clinical development programs,” stated Jan Mikkelsen, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ascendis Pharma. “This Series D financing will fund important advances in our product development pipeline and improvements in our technology platforms, all with the goal of accelerating our ability to bring innovative new therapies to market.”

Moreover, in 2015, with this financing, the company want to initiate a Phase 1 proof-of-concept program of TransCon Treprostinil to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension. Also, it is expected to be used to support drug manufacturing, advance the development of preclinical drug candidates, and to enhance the Ascendis Pharma clinical development and research organizations.

The promising company focuses a global market of more than 2,5 billion euros.

With the following video, you can discover how Ascendis’ technology work :

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