PIQUR completes Series A financing round

Vladimir Cmiljanovic, CEO and co-founder of PIQUR, commented: “We are delighted by the trust of investors in our company. In particular, we successfully attracted further distinguished individuals from the life science industry as investors. The successful round of funding has encouraged us in our determination to continue pursuing our corporate strategy. The funds that have been procured secure the cost of the first clinical studies with our lead compound PQR309.”

PIQUR has received approval from the authorities in Switzerland and UK to conduct the clinical Phase I study with PQR309. This study will assess the safety in cancer patients, and will help determine the ideal dosage. On January 2, 2014, PQR309 was administered to the first patient at the University Hospital in Basel. “For PIQUR, the very first administration of PQR309 represents an important milestone in clinical development. First results of the study are expected to be released before the end of 2014,” said Prof. Dr. Richard Herrmann, Chief Medical Officer of PIQUR.

Also of crucial importance for the future development of the company is the broadening of the license agreement with the University of Basel. The license agreement with the University of Basel was previously limited to the field of cancer, and has now been extended to a broad range of promising clinical indications. “The expansion of the license agreement is very important for the progress and development of our company. We now have the unlimited freedom to assess the therapeutic benefit of PQR309 and all other research programs in other therapeutic fields, such as immunology, neurology and ophthalmology,” pronounced Bernd Giese, Chairman of the Board of Directors.

About PIQUR
PIQUR is a Swiss pharmaceutical company incorporated in August 2011 as a spin-off of the University of Basel, focusing on the discovery and development of innovative anti-cancer drugs based on lipid kinase (PI3K) and mTOR inhibition. PIQUR’s pipeline originates from one of the most promising research areas in oncology. While mTOR is a clinically validated drug target, PI3K inhibition achieved proof of concept status in clinical phase III. PIQUR has a secured patent scope protecting many chemical compounds. In January 2014 PIQUR launched the clinical Phase I study with the active ingredient PQR309; the first results of the study are anticipated in the fourth quarter of 2014.