Diurnal, a drug developer spun out of Sheffield University, plans to raise up to £6m ($10.11m) to bring its drug Chronocort to market.
Diurnal is a portfolio company of IP Group, who has already committed £4.1m ($6.92m). If fully invested, this would give IP Group a majority stake of 51.7% in the company.
Chronocort is used to treat Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, a genetic condition which results in the swelling of adrenal glands. These glands can be found at the top of kidneys and are important particularly for releasing hormones in response to stress. The drug recently finished a phase 2 trial and will begin a phase 3 trial in early 2015.
Raising the full £6m is dependent on reaching regulatory milestones. On top of paying for the phase 3 trial of Chronocort, part of the money would also be used to further develop other drugs.
Alan Aubrey, chief executive at IP Group, said: “This funding is intended to support Diurnal through its phase 3 trial as it seeks to bring Chronocort to market. Diurnal has made impressive progress this year and is a great example both of the latent value in IP Group’s biotech division and of IP Group’s commitment to supporting later-stage portfolio companies.”
