SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tolero Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing treatments for oncology and hematologic diseases, announced today the closing of the second tranche of its Series B financing, bringing the total amount raised to $22.4 million. The round was led by Fred Alger Management Inc., with investments from other institutional and individual investors.
Proceeds will support the further development and commercialization of Tolero’s lead program, alvocidib, which is being developed for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Tolero plans to initiate Phase 3 clinical trials of alvocidib in patients with AML in 2015.
"This new financing will enable the advancement of alvocidib, which has demonstrated significant potential in the treatment of AML in clinical studies to date, with high complete response rates, many of which remain durable," said Dr. David Bearss, co-founder and CEO of Tolero Pharmaceuticals. "Our new investors provide additional validation of our approach to discovering and developing innovative new treatments to improve and extend the lives of patients with cancer and other serious diseases."
The proceeds will also contribute to the ongoing advancement of the Company's preclinical pipeline. Tolero plans to initiate clinical trials of two of its preclinical programs in 2015.
T.R. Winston & Company, LLC acted as exclusive placement agent to Tolero.
About Alvocidib
Alvocidib is a potent small molecule inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) in development as a front-line combination therapy for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and relapsed/refractory AML. CDKs are regulatory proteins that are critical to cellular replication and regulation of gene expression. Given the key role CDK de-regulation plays in unchecked cell division and growth, CDKs remain an attractive target for the treatment of various cancers.
About Tolero
Tolero Pharmaceuticals is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing treatments to improve and extend the lives of patients with serious oncological and hematological diseases. Our diverse pipeline targets important biological drivers of blood disorders to treat leukemias and anemia as well as important targets of drug resistance and transcriptional control. For more information, visit www.toleropharma.com.