Atox Bio, developer of therapeutics for diseases mediated by an excessive inflammatory response, today announced that it has raised $3.25 million in an initial closing. The investment was co-led by Esperante and a private US-based investor and will be used to advance AB103, currently in phase 2 clinical studies for the treatment of Necrotizing Soft Tissue Infections (NSTI).

AB103 is a rationally designed short peptide acting as a CD28 modulator regulating the host's inflammatory response. AB103 is undergoing a phase 2 study at 7 leading surgical trauma centers in the US, evaluating its clinical benefit in patients with NSTI. In October 2011, the FDA has granted AB103 an orphan drug designation.

NSTI includes several distinctive clinical diagnoses that share clinical features representing the most severe types of infections involving the skin, skin structures and soft tissue and having a high mortality rate. To date, there are no approved treatments for NSTI. As neither surgical debridement nor antibacterial therapy directly address the immunological pathogenesis of NSTI, reducing the host inflammatory response could lead to important clinical benefits in both morbidity and mortality.

"We are very pleased with this financing round," stated Dan Teleman, CEO of Atox Bio "This achievement reflects our investors' confidence in our novel approach to treating severe infections. With this investment, we plan to advance AB103's Phase 2 study and further expand into new therapeutic categories. We plan to complete a second closing early in 2012."

Dean Slagel, Managing Director of Esperante, commented, "Atox Bio is one of the most exciting companies we have seen to date. AB103 shows promise across a broad range of indications, and this investment reflects our appreciation of the excellent scientific and clinical data package generated by the Atox Bio team."

Atox Bio will be included as one of the portfolio companies of Integra Holdings, a holding company currently formed by Yissum, the technology transfer company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.