Investors Pour $18.4M More into Biopharmaceutical Firm Aldagen

Durham, N.C. — Aldagen, a biopharmaceutical startup with four potential drugs in clinical trials based on stem cell technology, has closed on $18.4 million in venture financing.

Backers include Intersouth Partners in Durham and The Aurora Funds in Research Triangle Park.

Existing investors Tullis-Dickerson and Harbert Venture Partners also participated in the round.

The funds will be used for clinical trials and corporate purposes, according to Aldagen.

Aldagen, which was launched under the name Stemco, announced a close of $9 million as part of a continuing “C” round last September. In December of 2006, Aldagen secured $17 million in funding, including $3 million in debt financing.

The company’s products target chronic heart failure, critical limb ischemia, pediatric metabolic disorders, malignancies and leukemia. The firm has developed proprietary technology that enables the isolation and purification of stem cells that are then implanted in people suffering from a variety of illnesses. The body uses the stem cells to regenerate tissue, such as blood vessels.

ALD-101, the most advanced product, is in Phase III clinical trials. The treatment is designed to improve the effectiveness of cord blood transplants that are used to treat inherited metabolic diseases in pediatric patients.