Topica Pharmaceuticals
Topical antifungal treatment for fungal nail infections.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | €0.0 | round | |
| investor investor investor | €0.0 | round | |
| N/A | $31.5m | Late VC | |
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
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Topica Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was a privately held, clinical-stage specialty pharmaceutical company founded in 2008 and based in Palo Alto, California. The company's primary focus was the development and commercialization of luliconazole, a topical antifungal agent, for the treatment of onychomycosis, which are fungal infections of the nail. The company's business model centered on in-licensing promising drug candidates and advancing them through clinical development in the Americas and Europe.
Topica in-licensed its lead product, luliconazole, from Nihon Nohyaku Co., Ltd. This antifungal agent was already approved and marketed in Japan for treating tinea infections. The company's strategy was to develop a 10% luliconazole solution specifically for onychomycosis, a condition affecting over 35 million Americans with limited effective and safe topical treatments. Luliconazole showed high potency and the ability to rapidly penetrate the nail plate to reach the infection in the nail bed. The company was led by President and CEO Greg Vontz.
The company successfully completed a Phase 1/2a clinical trial in 2011, which demonstrated the safety and tolerability of its luliconazole solution. Following these positive results, Topica Pharmaceuticals secured $27 million in a Series B financing round in October 2011, led by Third Rock Ventures, with participation from existing investors Prospect Venture Partners and Yasuda Enterprise Development Corporation. This funding was intended to support a large-scale Phase 2b/3 clinical trial starting in 2012, with the goal of gaining FDA approval. The company raised a total of at least $28.7 million across its funding rounds. According to PitchBook, the company went out of business in May 2016.
Keywords: onychomycosis treatment, topical antifungal, luliconazole, fungal nail infection, clinical-stage pharmaceutical, dermatology, biotechnology, tinea infections, drug development, Series B financing, venture capital, Nihon Nohyaku, Third Rock Ventures, Prospect Venture Partners, Greg Vontz