The $9 million follow-on investment is on top of the original founders’ commitment of approximately $14 million, which also included Hadasit, Star Ventures, and the Jerusalem Development Authority, and is supplemented by the $21 million Israeli National Biotech Initiative grant that BioLineRx received in November of last year.
The additional funds will be used to advance the company’s promising drug candidates through clinical trials and to continue to build BioLineRx’s pipeline. BioLineRx management anticipates that the company’s BL-1020 first-in-class treatment for schizophrenia will enter human clinical trials in the first quarter of 2006.
“BioLineRx’s uniqueness lies in our in-licensing model, which allows the company to generate a robust pipeline of molecules that can be partnered with global players for introduction to the market,” said Dr Morris Laster, CEO BioLineRx.