CHARLOTTE – A Research Triangle Park-based biotechnology company working on a drug to treat strokes has raised $27.5 million from investors, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Wednesday.
Basking Biosciences raised the money from 11 investors, according to the filing.
The company is working on developing a thrombosis drug capable of reopening blocked arteries, and whose activity can be quickly reversed in the event of bleeding. Thrombosis occurs when blood clots block veins or arteries and causes strokes and heart attacks. Such strokes are not treated by current therapeutic or surgical interventions.
Basking’s founders, Duke University professor Bruce Sullenger and Ohio State University’s Shahid Nimjee, are noted experts in the ways that block proteins involved in cardiovascular disease and inflammation, and the evaluation of antidotes to treat certain types of stroke.
Nimjee is a nationally recognized endovascular neurosurgeon and clinical scientist in the field of stroke.
Acute ischemic stroke, which is caused by blockage in an artery, is the leading cause of combined mortality and morbidity worldwide, and 87% of all strokes are ischemic. According to the World Health Organization, 15 million people suffer strokes each year, leading to more than 5 million deaths. Global incidence is rising with aging populations.
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