Nobex Corp. raised $35 million in equity financing through a private placement of Series F preferred stock, just months after it secured a development deal with GlaxoSmithKline plc.

"This funding will enable us to progress several products in clinical and preclinical studies," Nobex President and CEO Christopher Price told BioWorld Today. "We aimed at raising an amount of money that would give us about two years of cash."

Price added that it gives Nobex a secure position even if anticipated money from other deals "does not come through as planned." Including this round, Nobex has raised $78 million to date, he said.

The deal signed in May with London-based GlaxoSmithKline calls for GSK's oral insulin products to be modified with Nobex's technology that allows drugs normally delivered by injection to be given orally. The agreement was valued at up to $283 million at the time and is aimed at GSK developing a modified oral insulin for controlling post-meal blood glucose levels. Nobex developed the oral insulin up to Phase I/II trials, and GSK took over development at that point. (See BioWorld Today, May 23, 2002.)

Now, Price said, Nobex can focus on oral calcitonin, its protein drug for osteoporosis, which is part of a joint venture with Elan Corp. plc, of Dublin, Ireland. Oral calcitonin, or Oratonin, recently completed its first Phase I trial. The drug is expected to enter Phase II trials later this year, Price said.

Elan is advancing its plan, announced July 31, to restructure and cut its expenses in a move to save cash, and one of the strategies under consideration is the divestiture of certain of its U.S. joint ventures with biotechnology companies. (See BioWorld Today, Aug. 12, 2002.)

"We are in discussions with Elan, and we believe there is an amicable and fair resolution for both parties," Price said, adding that Nobex has built the Elan situation into its budget. "I think we'll be in good shape."

Privately held Nobex, of Research Triangle Park, N.C., also is focused on an oral small-molecule drug, called Apaza, for treating inflammatory bowel disease. The company said it expects to file an investigational new drug application for Apaza by year's end, thus allowing the drug to enter the clinic in 2003. Essentially, Apaza delivers two drugs for treating inflammatory bowel disease directly to the site of the inflammation, Price said.

"Our first move will have to be ensuring that our IND for Apaza is on the fastest track of completing everything that's necessary to make sure we get the IND filed," Price said. Then, he said, Nobex will have to ensure that Oratonin is "advancing as quickly as possible."

Price said the company also will continue to accelerate its preclinical studies with peptide and protein drugs, with an aim toward moving additional compounds into preclinical studies. Nobex is specifically looking to expand its program to identify peptide hormones that are not marketed, but are known to play a role in disease and could possibly be used as therapeutic drugs. Certain peptides are scheduled to be developed in a form for oral administration.

"The secondary focus will be to increase our business development activities to generate outlicenses, as well as technology-based alliances," Price said. "We will also look at new technology that can complement and extend what we already have in terms of core technology."

The Series F round was led by AEA Investors, of New York, and included new investors EndPoint Late Stage Fund I LP, of New York; HealthCap, of Stockholm, Sweden; and a group of venture capital firms based in Taiwan.