Nottingham-based Locate Bio, a regenerative medicine development company focused on orthobiologics, announced that it has raised an oversubscribed £10M (approx €11.64M) of equity investment in a fresh round of funding.
The round was co-led by existing investor Mercia Asset Management and new investor BGF. Including this round, Locate Bio’s total raised capital comes to over £18M.
Orthobiologics are substances that are used to improve the healing of broken bones and injured muscles, tendons, and ligaments. These products are often made from substances that are naturally found in the human body.
Use of the funds
The proceeds from this round will enable Locate Bio to further develop its pipeline of regenerative orthobiologics products, with key clinical and regulatory milestones expected to accelerate growth over the next two years.
John von Benecke, CEO of Locate Bio, says, “This financing will allow us to further develop our exciting portfolio of differentiated products as we embark on our next phase of growth.”
Products for people dealing with debilitating orthopaedic conditions
Conditions such as arthritis, bursitis, and osteoporosis can cause pain and dysfunction and can be debilitating. Orthopedic conditions are often chronic, which means they tend to last months or even years, and they are often progressive, meaning they will get worse over time – especially without treatment. This is where Locate Bio comes in.
Locate Bio aims to develop a suite of technologies that address the performance limitations of existing products and enable orthopaedic surgeons to improve the lives of people suffering from debilitating conditions.
Founded in 2001 by Kevin Shakesheff, the company’s lead product in development is called LDGraft. It is a low dose, controlled-release rhBMP-2 spinal fusion product intended for the treatment of lower back pain caused by degenerative disc disease
In September 2020, Locate Bio announced the acquisition of multiple late-stage complementary orthobiologics assets from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) University of Medicine and Health Sciences, accelerating its route to market and broadening its orthobiologics pipeline.
Locate Bio’s portfolio currently includes:
- CertOss, a family of synthetic graft substitutes
- CognitOss, a controlled and responsive release of antibiotics from a resorbable bone graft for the treatment of osteomyelitis
- LDGraft, a low dose, controlled-release rhBMP-2 spinal fusion product for the treatment of lower back pain caused by degenerative disc disease
- Chondro3, a three-layer biomimetic cartilage repair graft
The company claims to have received two breakthrough device designations from the US Food and Drug Administration at the start of 2021 for CognitOss and Chondro3. Besides, it continues to look for partnering opportunities, both in-licencing or out-licencing.