Versartis, Discovery Labs Raise Funds for Protein-based Drugs.

BioWorld Today Contributing Writer

Two biotech companies are headed to the bank to raise funds for advancement of peptide-based biological therapies. Versartis Inc., of Mountain View, Calif., completed a Series B financing round worth $21 million to advance its recombinant human growth hormone product into human trials, and Discovery Laboratories Inc., of Warrington, Pa., priced an underwritten public offering of 10 million units for gross proceeds of $23.5 million to funnel into its program of developing surfactant and aerosol therapies for lung diseases.

Protein-based therapies were once thought to be unworkable, but the two companies are showing that the unique properties of peptides can be exploited to deliver powerful therapeutic effects.

Versartis will use its $21 million to begin Phase I trials of VRS-317 for adult growth hormone deficiency. VRS-317 is a form of recombinant human growth hormone (HGH) modified with a sequence of hydrophilic amino acids to extend half-life in the body. The technology was licensed from Amunix Inc.

The company …