Dilafor, a portfolio company of Karolinska Development, has attracted investors led by its manufacturing partner Opocrin to take its overall funding to more than $8.3m.
Dilafor, a Sweden-based obstetrical drug developer backed by Karolinska Development, the investment arm of Karolinska Institute, closed an Skr23.3m ($2.4m) funding round on Tuesday led by pharmaceuticals manufacturer Opocrin.
Karolinska Development’s shareholding is expected to rise in value with the transaction, resulting in a positive earnings impact of approximately $1.8m.
Founded in 2003, Dilafor is working on drugs for women undergoing maternal labour which aim to stimulate a hormone – oxytocin – responsible for a number of biological tendencies during childbirth.
The approach uses tafoxiparin – a mimetic of the linear polysaccharide heparan sulfate manufactured by Opocrin in several key markets – in an attempt to effectively soften the patient’s cervix and thus induce delivery of the child.
The natural form of heparan sulfate occurs in all animal tissues, playing a supporting role in oxytocin’s effectiveness through maternal labour.
Dilafor had been progressing an intravenous tafoxiparin candidate for protracted labour emergences, but has now opted for a more gradual subcutaneous dosage after intravenous phase 2b studies in combination with oxytocin did not sufficiently improve patient outcomes.
The funding will enable Dilafor to prepare a phase 2b trial of its new approach, scheduled for the second quarter of 2019, which will help determine whether subcutaneously-administered tafoxiparin is more effective.
Karolinska Development currently owns a 30% fully-diluted stake in Dilafor, having last backed a $5.9m round for the company in 2016 through its KDev Investments vehicle, which it funds jointly with VC firm Rosetta Capital.
Rosetta co-led the round directly with Lee’s Healthcare Investment Fund, a VC vehicle established by pharmaceuticals group Lee’s Pharmaceutical Holdings, which holds commercialisation rights to tafoxiparin in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
The deal also featured Praktikerinvest, a corporate venturing subsidiary of healthcare provider Praktikertjänst, Östersjöstiftelsen, the Swedish government-funded body for Baltic and East European Studies, and Pila AB.
Opocrin supplied Dilafor with funding of unspecified size in 2014 as part of its manufacturing deal, after Dilafor received an undisclosed sum from Rosetta and angel network B-To-V Partners in 2013.
