Brixton Biosciences, a spin-out from Massachusetts General Brigham and a clinical-stage life sciences company developing novel therapies for chronic and acute pain, announced that it closed a $33 million Series B funding round. Schooner Capital led the round, which also included SV Health Investors, Sparta Group, Excelestar Ventures, PV Capital Management, and Catalyst Health Ventures.
This new funding round will enable the company to immediately pursue two pivotal clinical studies for treating knee pain associated with osteoarthritis and knee replacement surgery and to expand the applicability of its Neural Ice platform beyond the knee to multiple indications in pain with a simple and ultra-long acting injectable drug-free nerve block. Brixton has also appointed Dr. Michael Fishman as Chief Medical Officer and Reggie Groves to its Board of Directors.
The current benchmark for treating acute pain involves systemic medications and local anesthetics that are easy to use but offer relief for a short duration of time. In contrast, chronic pain therapies can be long-lasting but are often complicated to administer, resulting in a low patient response rate. Brixton’s leading solution, its novel Neural Ice platform, takes an alternative path by targeting nerves directly and potentially providing pain relief for 3 to 6 months in a simple, targeted, and familiar injectable.
This funding round of funding follows a recent announcement that Brixton Biosciences’ novel Coolio Therapy (now Neural Ice) received the prestigious Breakthrough Device Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). And the company’s therapeutics show promising first-in-man clinical data with the intent to progress toward pivotal regulatory studies for FDA approval.
Brixton’s new Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Michael A. Fishman, will drive clinical development and manage the expansion strategy beyond the team’s initial indication. And he previously served as a Pain Medicine Physician and the Director of Research at the Center for Interventional Pain & Spine.
Reggie Groves will sit on Brixton’s Board of Directors, bringing both a global perspective and a diverse skill set through her expertise in driving sustainable results in medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and professional services. And she previously played a transformative role at Medtronic, where she curated and launched novel technologies. Currently, she serves on the Board for LuxMed Systems, Fulgent Genetics, Advanced NanoTherapies, Inc., and Atricure.
KEY QUOTES:
“We are delighted to welcome our new investors, led by Schooner Capital, as well as all of our existing investors, on our journey to bring to market products that disrupt the way we have traditionally come to think of pain treatment. As we use the proceeds of this funding to enter into regulatory clinical studies, our goal is to deliver a simple injectable nerve block that lasts for several months, rather than a day or so.”
– Sameer Sabir, Chief Executive Officer of Brixton Biosciences
“Investing behind a proven entrepreneur, strong early clinical results, and profound potential to impact pain management represents a terrific opportunity. We are excited to join a great group of early investors.“
– Ted Henderson, Managing Partner at Schooner Capital
“Brixton’s objective to offer targeted and long-lasting pain control for months at a time with a well-understood mechanism of action has the potential to become the standard of care. Being able to extend the relief of a nerve block for months as compared to days with traditional numbing medicines will be a significant milestone in the field of regional anesthesia and orthopedics, and will provide patients in need with durable relief.”
– Dr. Michael Fishman, Chief Medical Officer of Brixton Biosciences and a double board-certified Anesthesiologist and Pain Medicine specialist
