Camden Partners Nexus co-leads $3.7M investment in pharmaceutical company treating hearing loss

Early-stage pharmaceutical company Spiral Therapeutics received $3.7 million in new investment as it looks to advance treatments for hearing loss and other inner ear disorders.
The first close of the Series A round was led by Baltimore-based Camden Partners Nexus and Savoir Capital.
The company’s initial drug candidate, LPT99, moved into the clinical phase of a Phase I study this month. In the fall, the company reported positive feedback from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in response to an initial submission, which plans to develop the treatment for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced hearing loss in pediatric patients. The company is also exploring further use for other types of hearing loss.
“This round of financing allows us to take LPT99 into the clinic and further validates our development strategy,” said Hugo Peris, founder and CEO of Spiral Therapeutics.
Launched in early 2016, the San Francisco–based company has a research and development presence in Baltimore through a collaboration with Johns Hopkins, as well as in Barcelona, Spain.
“Spiral Therapeutics brings together innovative therapies addressing inner ear disorders and a seasoned and energetic management team,” George Petrocheilos, a general partner at Camden Partners who will join the company’s board, said in a statement. “Its solid R&D foundation and the meaningful collaborations with leading medical institutions like Johns Hopkins and UCSF make Spiral an ideal investment for Camden.”
Camden Partners Nexus, the biomedical-focused venture fund of Inner Harbor–based Camden Partners that focuses on companies commercializing research, recently made investments in local startups including Sisu Global Health and WindMIL Therapeutics, among other deals since making its final close at the end of 2017.