A UNC-Chapel Hill spin-out developing new ways of tackling respiratory viruses is looking to raise millions to move its programs forward, including growing its staff size.
Inhalon Biopharma is developing antibodies that patients can administer through the use of a handheld portable nebulizer. Patients with these viruses are typically treated with oral tablets or IVs, said CEO John Whelan. But Inhalon is taking a different approach by treating the virus at its starting point in the lungs.
"These viruses infect lungs to start with," Whelan said. "The idea is putting the drug where the virus is."
Previously, it was generally thought that antibodies could not be inhaled as a treatment, Whelan said. But the company says it has the technology to make that possible and is leveraging positive results from a recent clinical study to boost its fundraising efforts.
The company is aiming for a funding round in the tens of millions to support operations for a few years, Whelan said. "For us, it's how far we want to go out in terms of timeline and milestones," he said.
The funding would support efforts to advance its pipeline, which includes programs targeting different respiratory infections, including respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, influenza and human metapneumovirus.
Positive results from a recent phase 1b study will also support the company's clinical development plans. The study compared lung function in healthy volunteers following treatment with either nebulization of the company's inhaled formulation or the same antibodies delivered intravenously. The study demonstrates that antibodies maintain their activity following nebulization and can be dosed throughout the human respiratory tract, according to the company.
Whelan said the company plans to move a program focused on RSV into a phase 1 study in the second half of this year. And Inhalon plans to initiate a phase 1 study for a program targeting severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, in the first half of 2025.
Inhalon was formed in 2018. UNC professor Sam Lai, the company's founder and chief scientific officer, invented Inhalon's core technology, a platform that delivers inhaled antibodies to treat acute respiratory infections.
Whelan, who is based in the Bay Area, joined the company in 2019, and it has since grown to a team of 10 people with laboratory space on McCrimmon Parkway in Morrisville. Whelan said the company could double its size over the next two years, with much of the growth focused in Morrisville, where the company has about 7,000 square feet of space.
The company previously raised about $10 million through seed and Series A rounds. Inhalon has also brought in about $30 million in grant and award funding through agencies like the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Army.