Israeli Pharma Company Raziel Raises $22M For Development Of Fat-Melting Shot
Israeli pharmaceutical company Raziel Therapeutics announced this week a $22 million Series C preferred stock financing led by Israeli VC firm Pontifax, with the participation of existing investors Dr. Shmuel Cabilly and Docor International. New investors included Catalyst Fund, Quark Venture and Peregrine Ventures.
The Jerusalem-based company, founded in 2012 as part of the Hebrew University’s technology transfer company Yissum, is developing a heat-producing injection that burns fat cells. The shot, RZL-012, is a single multi-site injection into subcutaneous fat that “causes immediate fat cell death at the injection site, resulting in significant reduction of fat tissue for long time periods,” the company says.
The new funds will support Phase 2b development of RZL 012 for submental fat reduction and Dercum’s Disease, a rare, painful disorder characterized by multiple growths consisting of fatty tissue. The company said it received FDA approval this November to develop RZL-012 as an orphan drug for Dercum’s Disease patients. The Phase 2b study for the disease will begin next year, Raziel said.
Raziel CEO Alon Bloomenfeld said, “As we advance RZL-012 into Phase 2b development in therapeutic and aesthetic indications, we are privileged to have strong support from top-tier healthcare investors who share our vision of creating a best-in-class product with clear clinical benefits that address the unmet needs of many people with fat disorders and aesthetic conditions.”
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