Madison-based biotechnology firm FluGen Inc. has raised a $5.6 million debt funding round to continue its development of a universal flu vaccine.

The company raised the latest funding from a total of 36 investors, according to an SEC filing this week. The financing will be used along with an existing U.S. Department of Defense grant to fund the completion of FluGen’s first challenge study and the move into a second clinical trial, said Paul Radspinner, founder, president and chief executive officer of FluGen.

“We’re doing something no one’s ever done, to our knowledge,” Radspinner said. “What we did was to give about 100 volunteers, half of them received our vaccine, half received a placebo, and then a month later they were all given the flu.” Read the full story here.