Medtech start-up Gelmetix, the developer of a first-in-class polymer treatment for chronic lower back pain, has closed a successful £5 million Series C equity financing round.
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Following successful in vivo and preclinical studies, the University of Manchester spin-out will now use the additional capital to fund its upcoming first-in-human (FIH) trial and preparing for the pivotal study.
The pilot study will progress the development of its minimally invasive chronic back pain treatment, DXM, which restores the function to intervertebral discs to relieve pain. By rehydrating the core (nucleus pulposus) of damaged spinal discs, the novel DXM polymer gel therapy restores their load-bearing properties, delaying or preventing surgical intervention.
The French regulator, L’Agence Nationale de Sécurité du Médicament (ANSM), has granted approval to Gelmetix to commence its FIH trial which will be performed by renowned spine surgeons Prof Jean-Charles Le Huec in Bordeaux, Prof Richard Assaker in Lille and Prof Patrick Tropiano in Marseille. Patient recruitment has been initiated in France and the study will also include several sites in Australia.