SPRIM Global Investments led $21 M Debt & Equity funding raised by Prota Therapeutics
Prota Therapeutics Pty Ltd (Prota), an Australian biotechnology company, announced that it has raised $21 million in debt and equity financing. Prota is focused on developing innovative oral immunotherapy treatments that induce allergy remission.
According to a statement from Prota, the funding round, which was spearheaded by Singapore-based SPRIM Global Investments (SGI), will assist the business in getting ready for a Phase 3 clinical study of its PRT120 oral therapy for peanut allergy.
The announcement claims that the additional investment will progress the chemistry, manufacturing, and controls (CMC), quicken the process of submitting an IND, and enlarge Prota’s executive management group in order to add crucial knowledge of late-stage drug development and commercialization.
“SPRIM brings valuable expertise, capabilities, and an international investment network to Prota’s technology and clinical program,
“This partnership and funding will accelerate Prota’s drug development plans and clinical trial program, and we look forward to this strategic collaboration as Prota moves toward its Phase 3 trial,” said Prota Executive Chairman Kelly Constable.
The closing of financing in the current market, according to Dr. Paul Kelly, Founding Partner and Director of OneVentures, an Australian venture capital firm, validates Professor Mimi Tang’s technology’s potential to provide meaningful outcomes for patients with peanut allergy, where there is a persistent unmet need.
“Prota’s treatment offers the promise of an induction of remission of allergy, allowing patients to eat peanuts freely and enjoy an improved quality of life,” he added.
The market for treatments for peanut allergies is expected to reach $1 billion by 2030, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 10%, in part because peanut allergies are becoming more commonplace worldwide.
With a prevalence of 2.5% in the US, peanut allergy is the most common food allergy in children.
Reduced quality of life and psychological distress are the main effects of food allergies on patients and their families. These effects are brought on by dietary and lifestyle restrictions aimed at avoiding allergens, as well as the unpredictable nature of reactions to unintentional exposures.
Prota’s technology stems from more than 15 years of research conducted at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) under the direction of its founder, Professor Mimi Tang.
“Our Phase 2b multicenter randomized controlled trial conducted by MCRI showed that PRT120 is highly effective at inducing remission of allergy, and more importantly, leads to significant and clinically meaningful improvement in quality of life, compared with standard care (placebo treatment),” said Tang.
