Xenome rustles up another $10 million

Queensland-based private biopharma company, Xenome, has raised $10 million in funds in the form of convertible notes to fuel continued development of its flagship pain drug, Xen2174.

The two investors are Queensland BioCapital Fund (QBF) and GBS Venture Partners (GBS), both of whom have already provided finance for Xenome.

The last time Xenome raised funds was in 2008, when it brought in US$6 million from GBS.

The new round of investment will fund ongoing research into Xen2174, a non-competitive inhibitor of norepinephrine transporter (NET) based on a peptide extracted from the venom of a cone shell, for the treatment of moderate to severe pain.

This injection of funding will also help Xen2174 through an upcoming phase II clinical trial for the treatment of acute pain following bunionectomy surgery.

The funding comes in the form of convertible notes, which are like regular debt except that the creditors can exchange their debt for equity at a later date.

Today also marks the departure of Dr William Rote from the Xenome board. Rote is also a director at Amylin Pharmaceuticals. His position on the board came as part of Amylin's investment in Xenome in 2007.