Horizon completes $21M financing to advance NSAIDs pipeline

Horizon Therapeutics, a privately-held US biopharmaceutical firm, has raised an additional $15.0 million through a Series B financing to advance its lead product HZT-501, a "GI-friendly" prescription non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, into pivotal Phase III clinical trials in the first half of this year. Scale Venture Partners, formerly known as BA Venture Partners, led the round with Sutter Hill Ventures and Pequot Ventures also participating. The company completed a $6.0 million series A round in October 2005 with the same syndicate of investors.

HZT-501 is a proprietary formulation of the world's most prescribed NSAID ibuprofen, combined with the most potent H2 receptor antagonist famotidine, in a single pill. HZT-501 is specifically designed to provide pain relief while reducing stomach acidity during the peak time of risk for NSAID-induced ulceration.

The Phase III program will include two trials involving a total of 1,200 patients with mild-to-moderate pain, including those with osteoarthritis. It is designed to demonstrate if HZT-501 prevents or reduces severe NSAID-induced side effects such as gastric and duodenal ulcers compared to patients treated with ibuprofen alone.