Impel NeuroPharma Announces $36-Million Funding to Advance Novel Delivery Platform

Impel NeuroPharma, Inc. recently announced that it has closed a Series C funding round in an amount up to $36 million to advance its novel drug delivery platform for central nervous system (CNS) disorders. venBIO, 5AM Ventures, and Vivo Capital, all life science-focused firms, each made equal investments to be funded in two tranches. Impel NeuroPharma received $21 million in the initial tranche with the remaining $15 million to be received upon accomplishment of certain development and business milestones.

Impel NeuroPharma is developing a pipeline of drug-device combination products built upon its Precision Olfactory Delivery (POD) nasal delivery platform. These new nasal drug delivery devices are intended to achieve superior biodistribution, bioavailability, and decreased dose-to- dose variability of both small molecules and biologic drugs in patients. The company intends to continue developing combination products both internally and through pharmaceutical company partnerships for migraine, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Impel expects that new, additional indications will enter the clinic in 2017.

“The nasal cavity is a vastly underutilized entry point for therapeutics into the circulation,” said Impel NeuroPharma CEO John Hoekman. “Our POD nasal delivery platform is designed to deliver therapeutics into the deep nasal cavity. This form of administration may allow for an improvement in biodistribution and consistency compared to current delivery methods. Impel NeuroPharma is striving to use the POD system to develop improved drug-device combination products in underserved patient populations. We are especially pleased that our new investors recognized the value in the POD technology. Their support allows us to move our lead products closer to FDA approval.

“We believe the quality and caliber of our new investor group is a testimony to Impel NeuroPharma’s progress and to the potential of its technology base,” added Stewart Parker, Impel NeuroPharma Executive Chair. “We look forward to working with them to bring Impel NeuroPharma’s exciting products to fruition.”

“The biodistribution data that Impel NeuroPharma has generated with the POD delivery platform demonstrates its potential to improve our approach to treating multiple diseases. We’re excited to use the platform to bring new treatments to patients,” said Aaron Royston of venBIO.

Impel NeuroPharma’s POD nasal drug delivery platform is designed to deliver drugs to the upper nasal cavity for improved biodistribution. By delivering therapeutics to the upper nasal cavity, the POD nasal delivery platform takes advantage of the vascular rich olfactory region for improved bioavailability and has the potential to target the brain via the olfactory and trigeminal nerves. Delivery of therapeutically meaningful levels of drugs may allow for development of more effective drugs and expand the range of treatment options available to patients.

Impel NeuroPharma, Inc. is a Seattle-based company developing intranasal drug treatments for CNS disorders. Impel NeuroPharma has developed a novel drug delivery platform, the POD technology, that administers drug to the deep nasal cavity to improve the biodistribution of many drugs. Impel NeuroPharma’s proprietary (POD) device technology enables entirely new categories of drugs, including biologics, to be administered using a cost-effective, disposable, non-invasive intranasal drug delivery device. For more information, visit www.impelnp.com.