Author: Meghana Keshavan Source: JumpStart (
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Thermalin Diabetes is picking up steam -- and funding -- as it develops a more concentrated and faster-acting version of insulin.
The Boston and Cleveland-based company just raised $5.9 million from private investors in the first tranche of a Series B round. To date, it has raised about $15 million in equity and $8 million in NIH grants.
The new flush of cash will augment Thermalin's recent $1.5 million Phase 2 SBIR grant that it received recently from the NIH's National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. It plans to begin IND-enabling studies for Flurolog -- Thermalin's highly concentrated, rapid-acting insulin. The drug, ideally taken at meal time, is geared toward patients who need higher insulin doses to control blood sugar. Because it's so concentrated, it'll allow insulin pumps to be much smaller, since the needed insulin reservoir will be able to shrink 80 percent.
The funding will also support large-animal studies for Thermalin-biphasic, a next-gen replacement for pre-mix insulins. The substance doesn't require refrigeration, and is geared toward the China and India markets.
Lastly, the company is in partnership with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to find a ultra-fast-acting insulin candidate to be used in an artificial pancreas.
"One size does not fit all with glucose control and the management of diabetes," Thermalin Founder and Chief Scientific Officer Michael Weiss said. The company's portfolio of insulin analogues will help a wider range of diabetics treat the disease "with precision and a higher degree of safety," he said.
