PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Knopp Biosciences LLC today announced that it had completed a Class C equity financing of approximately $14 million led by Solas BioVentures, whose managing director, C. David Adair, M.D., was elected to the Knopp Board of Managers.

The Class C closing follows an equity financing of $13 million closed in 2019. Knopp is directing capital to a Phase 2 trial of oral dexpramipexole in moderate-to-severe eosinophilic asthma, with topline data expected in 1Q of 2021. Proceeds are also directed to the initiation of first-in-human studies in 2021 of KB-3061, a potential precision medicine treatment for a profound disease of infants and children, KCNQ2 epileptic encephalopathy.

“Knopp is excited to enter 2021 well-positioned to complete our Phase 2 dexpramipexole asthma trial and to initiate IND-enabling studies and Phase 1 trials of KB-3061,” said Michael Bozik, M.D., president and CEO of Knopp. “We’re grateful for the capital and commitment Solas BioVentures brings to our team and the expertise and experience that Dave Adair brings to our Board of Managers.”

With a two-decade track record as an accomplished venture investor, Dr. Adair was a founding member in 2014 of Solas BioVentures, which invests in life-changing therapeutics and medical device companies. He is Board certified in maternal-fetal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, and hypertension, with special expertise in critical care, and recently retired as Professor and Vice Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine. Dr. Adair earned his medical degree from the Joan C. Edwards College of Medicine at Marshall University and completed his residency at the University of Florida Health Science Center and his fellowship training at Wake Forest University. He holds an MBA from the University Tennessee Chattanooga.

“I’m pleased to join the Knopp team as it enters a pivotal year of milestone attainment,” Dr. Adair said. “Our investing philosophy at Solas BioVentures fits squarely within Knopp’s emphasis on unmet medical need, breakthrough technology, and leadership tenacity.”

Knopp's epilepsy and neuroscience research is supported in part under Award Number U44NS093160 and Award Number U44NS115732 of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The content of this announcement is solely the responsibility of Knopp and does not necessarily represent the views of the NIH.

ABOUT KNOPP BIOSCIENCES LLC

Knopp Biosciences is a privately held drug discovery and development company focused on delivering breakthrough treatments for immunological and neurological diseases of high unmet need. Knopp’s clinical-stage oral small molecule, dexpramipexole, is in Phase 2 clinical trials in moderate-to-severe eosinophilic asthma. Knopp’s preclinical Kv7 platform is directed to small molecule treatments for developmental and epileptic encephalopathies, other rare epilepsies, neuropathic pain, and tinnitus. Please visit www.knoppbio.com.

ABOUT SOLAS BIOVENTURES

Solas BioVentures is a venture capital firm that invests exclusively in the life science industry, focusing on early and development-stage biotech, medtech, and diagnostics. Solas is headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Please visit www.solasbio.com.