Media Release: Atmo Biosciences closes fully subscribed $8 million Series B funding round
• Capital raise led by existing shareholder Otsuka Pharmaceutical, a leading Japanese pharmaceutical company
• New capital provides funds to undertake a pivotal study to support an application for regulatory clearance in a first indication for Atmo’s unique, ingestible gas-sensing capsule to assess gastrointestinal motility
• Atmo also progressing pilot study for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), a common and debilitating gut disorder.
MELBOURNE AND SYDNEY AUSTRALIA, 30 March 2023:
Atmo Biosciences, a company commercialising the world’s first ingestible gas-sensing capsule that provides insights into gut health and microbiome function, has raised A$8 million in a fully subscribed Series B funding round.
The raise was led by Japanese multinational company Otsuka Pharmaceutical, an existing strategic shareholder that took up more than its pro rata entitlement. There was also strong support of the raise from other existing shareholders and new investors, in Australia and the US.
The funding will support a forthcoming multi-site pivotal study for an initial U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) submission around the use of Atmo’s gas-sensing capsule to assess gastrointestinal motility (the rate that food moves through the regions of the gut), which is relevant to disorders such as gastroparesis (delayed emptying from the stomach), and slow transit constipation.
It will also help progress Atmo’s broader clinical portfolio, particularly a pilot study using Atmo’s technology as a diagnostic tool for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), a common and debilitating gut disorder which affects 5 per cent or more of the general population1.
Atmo Biosciences CEO Malcolm Hebblewhite said he was delighted by the successful raise, demonstrating continuing support from existing shareholders and interest from new investors.
“With 40 per cent of the global population suffering from some sort of functional gastrointestinal disorder2, there is a huge clinical need and market opportunity to better understand gut health and microbiome function,” Mr Hebblewhite said.
“This successful funding round shows that, even in this challenging financial climate, investors recognise the commercial potential in gut health and the microbiome, and they are confident in Atmo Biosciences’ ability to capitalise on this opportunity.
“I’d particularly like to thank Otsuka Pharmaceutical for its ongoing support. This is a strategic partnership that benefits both our companies. Atmo’s technology has potential applications in several of Otsuka’s businesses, including diagnostics, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceuticals. Atmo can benefit from Otsuka’s well established and extensive product development resources and distribution networks.”
About Atmo Biosciences:
Atmo Biosciences is an Australian digital health business commercialising the world’s first ingestible, gas-sensing capsule for providing insights into gut health and microbiome function. Atmo’s gas-sensing capsule continuously measures clinically important gaseous biomarkers as it travels through the gut, with the insights aiming to provide improved diagnosis, more personalised treatments and earlier relief of symptoms for gastrointestinal disorders. The gas-sensing capsule is currently being used in research applications in multiple clinical trials around the world.
1. SIBO – What Causes It and Why It’s So Hard to Treat ; Kresser Institute (2016) https://kresserinstitute.com/sibo-causes-hard-treat/
2. Sperber et al. Worldwide Prevalence and Burden of Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders, Results of Rome Foundation Global Study, Gastroenterology, 2021
The Atmo Gas Capsule is currently an investigational device exclusively for use in clinical investigations and is not available for sale.
