St. Renatus, the Colorado start-up founded to commercialize a new needle-free dental anesthetic, has secured up to $3.5 million from an angel investment group and will move forward with phase III clinical trials.
The anesthetic, in the form of a nasal mist, is designed to anesthetize the maxillary arch.
St. Renatus had a favorable end of phase II review with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), with agreement that the company can proceed with conducting phase III clinical studies, the company noted. The phase III studies are expected to be completed by late spring of this year.
A new drug application to the FDA will likely be filed by the summer of 2012 for review; in the meantime, St. Renatus plans to secure additional funding to prepare for U.S. commercialization in 2013 and for submitting additional registrations in other countries, according to CEO Steve Merrick.