Madison biotechnology company FluGen, which is working with the University of Wisconsin-Madison and India-based Bharat Biotech to develop and test a vaccine for Covid-19, has secured more funding from private investors.
The company, founded by Gabriele Neumann, Paul Radspinner and Yoshihiro Kawaoka, recently reported to the federal Securities and Exchange Commission it had raised $8.18 million in debt funding from a total of 47 undisclosed investors, according to the filing. The company’s offering amount is $8.5 million.
Called CoroFlu, the Covid-19 vaccine is based on FluGen’s flu vaccine candidate known as M2SR. To tailor the vaccine to treat coronavirus, FluGen scientists are inserting gene sequences from SARS-CoV-2 into M2SR so that the new vaccine will induce immunity against the coronavirus.
The funding is focused on FluGen’s M2SR universal flu vaccine, Radspinner said.
Development of CoroFlu is expected to continue for the next three to six months, with CoroFlu possibly being ready to be tested in human clinical trials as soon as this fall, the company previously said. Like M2SR, CoroFlu will be delivered to patients through the nose via an intra-nasal drop method that helps activate the immune system.
Venture Investors, the largest venture capital fund in Wisconsin, is one of the existing investors in FluGen. Read the full story here.
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