Oxford Finance closed a $20 million senior secured term loan for PlateletBio, a preclinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering an entirely new platform of allogeneic cell therapies based on platelet biology.
PlateletBio will use the funds for general working capital and to advance the development pipeline of its lead platelet-like cell (PLC) program as a novel therapy for immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), further develop its engineered PLC platform and advance its proprietary manufacturing capabilities.
PlateletBio is a Massachusetts-based developer of platelet-like cells capable of performing vital biological functions and able to be engineered into multiple allogeneic therapies. Since the company’s founding, the team has developed a proprietary, biomimetic bioreactor-on-a-chip to produce PLCs and established in-house cGMP manufacturing capabilities. PlateletBio is now focused on advancing a pipeline of cellular therapies for applications in hematology, inflammation and autoimmune diseases.
“PlateletBio has a novel and proprietary approach to treating autoimmune and other indications using immune-privileged PLCs with the potential to match or improve upon the efficacy of current treatments with fewer side effects,” Christopher A. Herr, senior managing director at Oxford Finance, said. “Oxford is happy to provide capital to support the company’s innovative platform with promising treatment potential and a significantly better risk/side-effect profile.”
