Meditrina Pharmaceuticals Looks to Venture Capitalists to Fund Advancing Clinical Trials

As Featured in the Vol. 6 No. 5 Fall/Winter 2008

Ann Arbor-based Meditrina Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is in the midst of some exciting developments. Founded in 2006 with an intellectual property license from Wayne State University and $3.8 million from the 21st Century Jobs Fund, Meditrina develops and commercializes late stage drugs addressing an array of women’s health needs, particularly in the area of gynecologic disorders. In its first few years of business, the company has already licensed an AstraZeneca product targeting endometrial thinning prior to uterine surgery, which is currently in its second phase of investigational new drug testing.

President and CEO Thomas Collet said Meditrina’s initial funding from the 21st Century Jobs Fund, which was paired with an additional $600,000 from the Biosciences Research and Commercialization Center in Kalamazoo, was crucial to getting the company launched. As it looks ahead to its current and future clinical needs, the company is beginning to present its opportunities to venture capital firms throughout the country. “What’s going to be important to us is to raise the next round of funding,” said President and CEO Thomas Collet. “We basically raise money in slices from investors, including the Jobs Fund, to hit milestones in our product development path. The near-term intention would be to raise money from venture capitalists to fund our next clinical trial, and we’re making good progress towards that.”

Collet hopes to announce new investor partnerships in the coming months, but as he looks back to Meditrina's beginnings he reflects on the importance of the 21st Century Jobs Fund capital that seeded the company and paved the way for new opportunities. “There are really very few sources of funding that enable a new company to get started, whether you’re located in Michigan or on the East or West Coasts,” he said. “We’re certainly quite appreciative of this funding, which really was a key enabler to get the company off the ground.”