BioProtect Announces Final Closing of Equity Financing at $25M To Protect Prostate Cancer Patients

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TZUR YIGAL, Israel, Sept. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- BioProtect ltd., a private company with a unique bioabsorbable polymer spacer balloon platform, announced the final closing of $25 million of its Series D equity financing from an unnamed strategic investor and Peregrine Ventures.

These investors are joining the round led by Almeda Ventures and Vincent Tchenguiz, chairman of Consensus Business Group, a prominent private equity investor in Israel and the UK, with the participation of KB Investments of South Korea and Triventures.

Proceeds of the round will finance the ongoing multicenter FDA clinical trial of BioProtect's lead product, the ProSpace™ balloon spacer, which protects prostate cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy, as well as the expansion of the technology platform.

Every year, more than 1.1 million men are diagnosed with prostate cancer worldwide and approximately 400,000 will undergo prostate radiotherapy. Historically prostate radiation therapy was limited by concerns over risk of rectal toxicity following radiotherapy.

The ProSpace™ balloon spacer helps reduction of radiation therapy risks by pushing the prostate away from adjacent organ at risk, the rectum. Once injected the spacer offers physicians a consistent gap of over 1.5cm, which is visible under trans rectal ultrasound as well as CT. The spacer remains stable during radiation therapy and is gradually absorbed after radiation therapy is completed.

BioProtect's future pipeline represents a $4 billion opportunity, with additional applications for cervical cancer radiation therapy, pancreas radiation and general surgery. The versatility and physician appeal of a bioabsorbable polymer balloon spacer was further validated last year when a BioProtect spinout for musculoskeletal applications, Orthospace, was acquired by Stryker for a reported $220M.

Gil Rosen, CEO of BioProtect, stated on the round, "This financing will allow the company to complete the pivotal study, gain FDA approval, and accelerate development of the next indication to our platform."

Gil Rosen, CEO of BioProtect, on the opportunity of BioProtect, "During the pandemic, and possibly even more so after the pandemic, there will be pressure on radiation oncology providers to shorten the treatment cycle without compromising safety and cancer control: first, in order to minimize the number of visits and with them pandemic risks to the patients, and later once the pandemic subsides, the back-log of low risk patients that delayed their treatment will be significant. We hope to provide an important enabling tool to these providers and patients. Innovation in radiation therapy platforms enabling larger-dose radiation fractions to be delivered in fewer sessions received significant validation via new guidelines of the main societies, ASTRO, ASCO, and the AUA, and BioProtect hopes to support these patients. www.bioprotect.com

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SOURCE BioProtect