Drug release co PolyPid raises $5.3m

The company’s product facilitates antibiotic treatment for open fractures without additional surgery.
Holding company Xenia Venture Capital Ltd. (TASE:XENA) today announced that drug company PolyPid Optimized Therapeutics, in which it holds an 8.4% stake, had raised $5.3 million. Xenia itself did not take part in the financing round. The round reflected a $104 million value for PolyPid, giving Xenia’s holding a value of NIS 33 million following the round. The company share price jumped 4.8% today on the news.

PolyPid planned an IPO in 2015, but abandoned the idea after failing to obtain the value it sought. The company planned to raise $22 million at a company value of $100 million after money. Other than Xenia, the other investors before the planned IPO were private investors, who included former Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) senior executive and board member Chaim Hurvitz, PolyPid’s chairman. Since calling off its IPO, the company has raised $22 million from Shavit Capital, Aurum Ventures, Yelin Lapidot Investment House, and previous investors.
PolyPid has developed technology that combines polymers and fatty acids (lipids) to create a system for delayed release of drugs. Its leading product is a delayed release antibiotic for preventing bone infections. The company has developed a product making it possible to administer an antibiotic locally in a controlled manner in open fractures for weeks, and even months, without additional surgery. The product is about to enter a multi-center trial in the US. Another PolyPid product is designed for treatment of infections in open heart surgery, one of the biggest risks in this type of surgery.

Managed by CEO Amir Weisberg, PolyPid has recruited former Compugen Ltd. (Nasdaq: CGEN; TASE: CGEN) CFO Dikla Czaczkes Akselbrad as chief strategy officer, indicating that it plans to renew its plans for an IPO.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news – www.globes-online.com – on November 10, 2016