Satsuma squeezes $62m out of series B

Satsuma Pharmaceuticals, a US-based acute migraine treatment developer, obtained $62m in series B funding yesterday from investors including spinout-focused investment firm Osage University Partners.
Wellington Management Company led the round, which also featured contract research firm Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories, RA Capital Management, TPG Biotech, Cam Capital, Surveyor, Eventide Asset Management, Cormorant, Lumira Ventures and SBI Investment.
Satsuma, spun out of Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories in 2016, is working on a medical device to self-administer a proprietary form of existing anti-migraine drug dihydroergotamine (DHE).
DHE is currently administered primarily through injections, though it is available as a less potent nasal spray. Satsuma has developed a dry-powder nasal formulation it hopes will offer consistent and robust efficacy.
The product, STS101, will be advanced into late-stage clinical development following the series B round, with a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial set to begin in the third quarter of this year.
Satsuma has already consulted US regulator the Food and Drug Administration to design a phase 3 efficacy study to prepare a new drug application.
Satsuma previously closed a $12m series A round in 2017 co-led by RA Capital Management and TPG Biotech.
John Kollins, president and chief executive of Satsuma, said: As we advance STS101 into phase 3 development, we are privileged to have strong support from top-tier healthcare investors who share our vision of creating a best-in-class DHE therapeutic product with differentiated and demonstrated clinical benefits that address the unmet needs of many people with migraine.”
Satsuma’s connection to an academic institution or research institute could not be ascertained beyond the involvement of Osage University Partners, which exclusively focuses on such university-linked businesses.