Regulonix, a US-based biotech spinout from University of Arizona (UA), raised $2m in a seed round on Tuesday led by UAVenture Capital Fund (UAVC), a VC firm focused on commercialising research from the institution.
Local angel investor group Desert Angels also contributed to the round. UAVC had disclosed its investment in Regulonix last month, though no further details were revealed at the time.
Regulonix is working on non-opioid drugs to treat chronic pain. The spinout’s compounds have proven non-addictive and more efficient than morphine in animal models.
The spinout builds on research by Rajesh Khanna, professor of pharmacology, anaesthesiology and neuroscience at University of Arizona, who now acts as chief scientific officer of Regulonix.
May Khanna, assistant professor of pharmacology, and Vijay Gokhale, senior research scientist of medicinal and computational chemistry in the university’s biotech research unit Bio5 Institute, co-founded Regulonix with Rajesh Khanna.
The seed capital will go towards continued preclinical development of the spinout’s lead candidates. Fletcher McCusker, chief executive and founder of UAVC, has joined Regulonix’s board of directors.
McCusker said: “UAVenture Capital is thrilled to invest in this UA-related company that offers cutting-edge science capable of having an enormous impact in the world to address the opioid addiction epidemic.
“We are proud to be part of the legacy being established by president Robert C Robbins, the UA’s invention commercialisation office Tech Launch Arizona, and our brilliant scientists, inventors and students associated with the UA.”
