Aastrom Biosciences, an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based biotech startup, has announced a $40-million financing deal with large institutional investor Eastern Capital Limited. According to a March 9, 2012, letter on the company’s Website, the financing represents the largest funding round in the company’s history. Aastrom President and CEO Tim Mayleben said the deal comes “through a private placement of redeemable preferred stock, which is convertible into our common stock in five years at $3.25, a substantial premium to our current share price.”
The funding will apparently be used to advance a Phase 3 clinical study of ixmyelocel-T as a treatment for patients with critical limb ischemia, a condition in which blood vessels in the legs become so clogged that doctors are forced to amputate. “We will continue to build on this record of success and seek other high-quality investors and partners as we work to realize the clinical and commercial potential of ixmyelocel-T as a treatment for severe, chronic cardiovascular diseases [CVDs],” Mayleben wrote.
