Furiex Pharmaceuticals announced it executed a $15 million debt financing transaction with Fred Eshelman, PharmD, chairman and a 27.5% shareholder of Furiex. Furiex also entered into a second amended and restated loan and security agreement with MidCap Financial and Silicon Valley Bank to restructure its existing $40 million credit facility.

The restructured agreement defers payment of principal until May 15, 2014 with a flexible amortization schedule linked to Furiex’s receipt of alogliptin royalties.

Proceeds from both debt facilities will be used to fund Furiex’s eluxadoline program for diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS-d, that is currently in Phase III development, and for general working capital purposes.

“The loan commitment from Dr. Eshelman and the revised agreement with our lender provides us the financial resources needed to fund our eluxadoline program,” said Marshall Woodworth, chief financial officer, treasurer and assistant secretary of Furiex. “Based on our current forecast of expected receipt of various milestone and royalty payments, we expect to have sufficient cash to fund the business through to the top-line data readout of the Phase III studies.”

“The team is energized with the vote of confidence from our chairman and largest shareholder”, added June Almenoff, MD, PhD, president and chief medical officer, “Financing is out of the way, and we look forward to completing our pivotal studies on eluxadoline, a key value driver for our company.”

Furiex Pharmaceuticals is a drug development collaboration company that uses innovative clinical development design to accelerate and increase value of drug development programs by advancing them through the drug discovery and development process in a cost-efficient manner.