CivaTech Oncology, which is utilizing proprietary technology to develop improvements in radiation treatment, is finding cash under the corporate Christmas tree.

According to a securities filing, CivaTech has closed on $2.72 million in debt financing from 28 investors.

The fundraiser comes after the news in September that CivaTech had been awarded a contract worth as much as $2.3 million from the National Institutes of Health SBIR Fast Track program. The funding is for the first phase of CivaTech’s CivaSheet device as part of a “new, highly targeted radiation treatment device for patients with pancreatic cancer.” The FDA has already approved CivaSheet.

The company has been seeking to raise cash since last year and in April of this year raised the funding target.

CivaTech raised $1.5 million in equity in a 2014 fundraiser.

The company also has won National Institutes of Health contracts for a means to treat lung cancer.

The Phase II contract it won in 2012 was for $1 million and was designated for the further development and commercialization of CivaTech’s CivaSheet product.

The device, which is bioabsorbable, is designed for direct administration of radiation in treatment of lung cancer.

CivaTech received a Phase I contract in 2010.

The company already has won regulatory approval for its CivaString product, which is designed for treatment of “localized” tumors.

How Civa String works

CivaString is a unique linear, polymer-encapsulated, low-dose-rate (LDR) brachytherapy source used to treat localized, solid tumors. The CivaString source features 103Pd along the full length of the device which is contained using low-Z polymers. The polymer construction and linear radioactive distribution of the CivaString creates a very homogenous dose distribution that has advantages for patients.

Most radioactive seeds are encapsulated in metal; CivaString is unique in its polymer encapsulation. CivaString fits into the current brachytherapy seed regimen for treating prostate and other localized cancers; however, the product’s properties are being advantageously used to generate new, customized treatment plans.

CivaString treatment plans offer several advantages for the radiation oncologist, medical physicist and patient. CivaString treatment pre-plans generally reduce the number of needles1, resulting in:

  • Reduced treatment planning time
  • Decreased time required for implantation, anesthesia and time in the OR
  • Lower post-treatment dosimetry time
  • Reduces patient’s pain, bruising and initial urine toxicity
  • Provides a more robust implant

Patient describes CivaString experience for late stage prostate cancer.

Source: CivaTech

“We are extremely proud to be among the organizations selected to receive a Phase II Contract,” said Suzanne Babcock, the co-founder and executive chairman of CivaTech, at the time of the second NIH award. “Our company has dedicated itself to the mission of improving cancer therapy with novel polymer-based radiation sources that strive to maximize quality of life. We are very excited about the recognition and support provided by the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute and I would like to thank the members of our team who worked with enthusiasm and perseverance to make this possible.”

Veteran life science executive Robert Greczyn is a member of the firm’s board.