Going South: Intersouth Targets Argolyn Bioscience for Financing

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Argolyn Biosciences, a spinout from the Medical University of South Carolina, has closed on $15.8 million in financing.

The investment is the first Intersouth has made in South Carolina, but the deal had long been in the works, according to Intersouth spokesperson Suzanne Cantando.

“We have been following the company for several years,” she said.

Intersouth Partners, which is based in Durham, N.C., and Quaker BioVentures led the round.

Argolyn is seeking to develop drugs based on peptides. Targets are pain relievers and psychosis. Peptides are used for more effective means of drug delivery.

Funds will be used to take Argolyn’s drug candidates to human clinical trials.

Argolyn has a patent-protected drug development platform. The company was launched in 2002. Thomas Dix, who developed the platform while at the Medical University, is the firm’s founder and chief science officer. The company has announced the awarding of five patents.

Two drug candidates are currently in pre-clinical development, one for schizophrenia and the other for pain.

As part of the deal, Dennis Dougherty of Intersouth and Geeta Vemuri of Quaker will join the Argolyn board. Dougherty served on the Board of the Medical University of South Carolina Foundation for Research Development

“We are very pleased to have these strong financial partners as we move our clinical programs forward and work towards developing new, more effective medicines,” said Pearce Gilbert, Argolyn’s chief executive officer in a statement.

Intersouth’s Dougherty likes the potential he sees in Argolyn’s technology.

“Argolyn’s technology has the potential to provide a real breakthrough in the creation of peptide-based medicines,” he said. “The company has the potential to meet real needs in the medical community.”

David Pierson of Intersouth, who focuses on life science investments, will serve as a board advisor.

In 2003, Argolyn secured $975,000 in funding from The Stanley Medical Research Institute. The firm also has disclosed more than $1.7 million in federal grants since 2003.

Gilbert, who earned his MBA at the Kenan-Flager business school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, joined Argolyn after serving as program manager for technology transfer at the Medical University foundation.