Arboretum Ventures, a venture capital firm in Ann Arbor focused on the health care industry, led an oversubscribed of Series C financing in Allay Therapeutics, a company pioneering ultra-sustained analgesic products to transform post-surgical pain management and recuperation, which closed at $60 million.
The Menlo Park, Calif.-based biotechnology company will use the proceeds from the financing to advance its lead candidate, ATX-101, into phase 2b of clinical trials, and support the further development of its platform for ultra-sustained analgesic products.
“We’re pleased to attract such an impressive syndicate of health care investors to this round, and we’re fortunate to partner with Nicole (Walker) and the Arboretum Ventures team to advance the Allay platform of products through clinical development,” says Adam Gridley, CEO of Allay. “The vote of confidence by these investors is gratifying as we pursue our goal of allaying patients’ fears of extended painful recoveries and reliance on opioids after surgery.”
The phase 2b study of ATX-101 in total knee arthroplasties (TKA, also known as total knee replacements) is expected to be completed in the United States. ATX-101 is a small dissolvable product candidate incorporating the validated local analgesic bupivacaine. It is designed to be incorporated into surgery to deliver continual, localized pain relief that matches the pain trajectory patients typically experience after TKA surgery.
Aside from that prospect, Allay’s research and development teams in Singapore and the Bay Area have developed proof-of-concept of new implant variants, injectable formulations, formulations to permit patient self-dosing, and formulations that incorporate a variety of small molecules and other local analgesics.
“Demand for total knee replacement surgery is growing dramatically, and with it, desire for non-opioid solutions providing lasting pain relief,” says Nicole J. Walker, managing partner at Arboretum.
“We believe that Allay’s technology platform offers unprecedented potential breadth in terms of applicability and therapeutic profile for pain management, an area in need of innovation. Allay combines strong science, a veteran team and a clear vision for advancing an array of new products.”
