UT Dallas spinout Cersci has raised approximately $4m to advance its non-opioid painkiller into human clinical trials by the end of next year.
Cersci Therapeutics, a US-based non-opioid therapeutics spinout from University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), closed almost $4m in series A funding led by Hiawatha Education Foundation, Dallas Innovates reported today.
Hiawatha provided more than half of the series A capital, which also featured a North Texas investment consortium represented by Dallas craniofacial surgeon David Genecov.
Founded in 2015, Cersci is working on non-opioid painkillers to avoid the addictive side-effect of causing a high. The treatment prevents pain rather than masking it like opioids do.
The spinout is based on research by by UTD professors Greg Dussor and Ted Price with former UTD senior lecturer Lucas Rodriguez.
The spinout will use the series A capital to advance its lead candidate, CT-044, into human clinical trials by the end of 2018, following approval as an investigational new drug by US regulator Food and Drug Administration.
Genecov will join Cersci Therapeutics’ board of directors.
Rodriguez, chief executive of Cersci, said: “[The round] kept getting bigger and bigger, which is a good problem to have.”
