Thermalin Diabetes, a JumpStart Ventures portfolio company, recently closed $2.85 million in Series A investments, paving the way to the further development of short, medium and long lasting insulin analogs by Case Western Reserve Medical School Dr. Michael A. Weiss.

The announcement includes a second $250,000 investment from JumpStart, and exceeds Thermalin's original target by $1 million. "Having this round closed is great," says Thermalin CEO Rick Berenson. "I'm very excited about the progress. I'm looking forward to being able to report further progress."

The company is now moving immediately into Series B, in which the hope is to raise another $8 million. "With that we should be able to get through [the first] phases of studies."

The patents on existing insulins on the market are due to expire in 2013 and 2014, so the interest in Thermalin's developments is huge worldwide. Weiss' work centers around developing insulins that are more stable and effective on a more timely basis.

Thermalin has developed about 40 different analogs. The funding will allow the company to continue testing to determine which analogs to commercialize.

Insulin is a $14 billion a year market -- the largest volume drug market in the world. Insulin sales are expected to double in the U.S., triple in Europe and increase 12-fold elsewhere in the world as the disease reaches epidemic levels.

Thermalin employs six full time scientists at the Cleveland Clinic's Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center. The investment allows for additional key hires, including a senior scientist.


Source: Rick Berenson
Writer: Karin Connelly