Botanix Pharmaceuticals (ASX:BOT) has raised a total of $7.4 million via the placement of shares at $0.055 each, to be used to accelerate the development of treatments for skin diseases.
The company completed tranche 1 of the placement in April by raising circa $5.4 million. Last week, Botanix completed tranche 2, raising about $2 million.
The funds raised will be used to execute Botanix’s product development programs and broader commercialisation strategy for the Permetrex delivery technology.
Permetrex is a novel transdermal drug delivery technology which is designed to deliver pharmaceuticals through the skin more effectively.
Last week, Botanix crossed a major milestone by commencing the Phase 1a study for its lead acne treatment product, BTX 1503.
BTX 1503 is a topical treatment for moderate to severe acne, which utilises synthetic cannabidiol as the active ingredient, together with the Permetrex drug delivery technology.
The data from the Phase 1a study is expected to be available by the end of June 2017.
This is the first study designed to provide the safety, dosing and pharmacokinetic data for BTX 1503 and will support the rapid advancement of BTX 1503 into a pilot acne patient trial.
BTX 1503 is targeting the market for prescription acne market products that currently generates more than $4.5 billion in annual sales.
Botanix will also use the new funds to advance activities supportive of its planned Phase 2 clinical studies.
Part of the funds raised will also be allocated to pursue opportunities to leverage the Permetrex technology in the development of Botanix’s own and partners’ dermatology products.