Antibiotic developer Destiny Pharma PLC (LON:DEST) has received a cash injection from its Chinese distributor and partner at a hefty premium to the market price.
China Medical System Holdings is investing £3mln at 157p per share to help accelerate the development of Destiny Pharma's treatments for Staphylococcus aureus and other superbugs.
READ: Destiny Pharma believes it has the answer to superbug threat
Neil Clark, chief executive, said in a statement on Friday that added to the £15.3m raised when it floated on AIM in June, Destiny is now funded through to 2020.
The money will be used for a Phase IIb clinical trial of its lead programme XF-73 and to move forward its earlier stage drugs.
Clark added that Destiny and China Medical had also finalised a development and commercialisation agreement for its pipeline in China and certain other Asian countries outside of Japan.
"XF-73 could be the first drug to be specifically labelled for a new US FDA-sanctioned indication, namely the prevention of post-surgical infections; a market we believe to be worth a billion dollars in the US alone and growing,” said Clark at the time of the AIM float.
WATCH: Destiny Pharma to push ahead with next-generation antibiotic after $15mln IPO
Staphylococcus aureus is carried in the nose of 30% of the world’s population.
Normally the skin is an effective barrier to it entering the bloodstream but when the skin is open, such as during surgery, the bacteria can enter the body and cause serious damage.
Destiny’s XF-73 platform kills the S.aureus bacteria within 15 minutes and is applied to a patient’s nose in a gel before an operation.
A Phase IIb trial involving around 220 patients is the next stage for XF-73, with the results due in early 2019.
Shares in Destiny rose 21% to 136p.