A local biopharma startup – a portfolio company of Cincinnati-based CinRx – has raised tens of millions in new funding as part of a larger Series B round.
CinDome, which is developing a treatment for chronic gastroparesis, a GI disorder that affects the stomach muscles and prevents proper stomach emptying, said May 16 it closed a $40 million financing extension. The raise was led by New York-based investment firm Perceptive Advisors and CinRx Pharma and brings the firm’s total Series B raise to $59 million.
The CinRx/CinDome team said the capital will support the ongoing enrollment and evaluation of deudomperidone – a new chemical entity – in a Phase 2 study in adults with diabetic gastroparesis.
It also positions the company for registrational trials, a larger, Phase 3, confirmatory study.
“This increased investment in CinDome extends our important, ongoing development activities and enables readiness for deudomperidone to enter late-stage trials,” Dr. Jon Isaacsohn, founder and CEO at CinRx Pharma, said in a news release. “We are grateful for the continued support and partnership from Perceptive Advisors to advance this high-impact therapeutic and bring a new hope to people impacted by gastroparesis.”
Gastroparesis, which causes pain, bloating, nausea and vomiting, is an area of high unmet medical need, impacting an estimated 12 million to 16 million people in the U.S. alone, with an incidence rate growing on pace with diabetes. In the release, CinDome said there's currently no U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved long-term treatment option.
Deudomperidone is a novel formulation of domperidone, a frequently prescribed first-line medicine for nausea, vomiting and gastroparesis outside the U.S.
The company expects topline Phase 2 study results in 2025. Its team last raised in 2023 when it secured a $19 million private placement from CinRx Pharma and Perceptive Advisors.
CinDome, founded in 2016, is one of five companies launched to date by CinRx Pharma, a Madisonville-based biotech company. CinRx uses a hub-and-spoke business model to advance its portfolio of medicines through clinical development, and each portfolio company is managed by CinRx’s central infrastructure and operating team. Its treatment disciplines span metabolic, gastrointestinal and oncology.
Last year, CinRx's CinCor Pharma, which had developed treatments for hypertension and other cardio-renal diseases, was acquired by AstraZeneca in a deal worth $1.8 billion.
CinCor, which had also been previously based in Madisonville, moved its headquarters to Boston around the same time it made its public market debut in January 2022.
