From Staff Reports

Trius Therapeutics Inc. raised $30 million through a private placement of stock and warrants – money that will be used to support Phase III trials of antibiotic torezolid.

The financing takes advantage of the fact that Trius' stock is trading at an all-time high since the biotech's $5-per-share initial public offering (IPO) last summer. Like most of the biotechs to debut in the current IPO window, Trius priced below its anticipated range and initially faced pressure in the aftermarket. But the San Diego-based biotech's stock rebounded off a $3 floor in December and has been climbing ever since. (See BioWorld Today, Aug. 3, 2010.)

The stock (NASDAQ:TSRX) closed Tuesday at $7.88 per share, down 21 cents. On Wednesday, Trius revealed that it had raised $30.16 million through the private sale of 4.75 million shares for $6.35 apiece and 1.66 million five-year warrants with an exercise price of $8.05.

Piper Jaffray & Co. served as the lead placement agent for the financing, and Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. served as co-placement agent with Citigroup Global Markets Inc. acting as financial advisor.

The new money will nearly double Trius' current cash position: the firm reported $36.7 million in cash and equivalents as of March 31 after posting a $10.1 million net loss for the first quarter.

Proceeds will support an ongoing Phase III trial of torezolid, Trius' second-generation oxazolidinone antibiotic for Gram-positive infections, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The drug is intended to improve on Pfizer Inc.'s first-generation oxazolidinone antibiotic Zyvox (linezolid).

The ongoing Phase III trial is testing an oral version of torezolid for acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI). Enrollment is expected to be completed this year, with results available in early 2012. The primary endpoint of the double-blind study is cessation of spread of infected lesions and absence of fever at 48 to 72 hours following initiation of treatment. That endpoint was agreed to with the FDA under a special protocol assessment (SPA) and is in line with the agency's new guidance documents for ABSSSI. (See BioWorld Today, June 17, 2010.)

If torezolid achieves noninferiority against Zyvox in the study, it will also be evaluated for superiority. Trius has previously stated that torezolid is eightfold more potent and sixteenfold slower to elicit resistance than Zyvox. It also offers less frequent dosing, an improved safety profile, and activity against Zyvox-resistant bacterial strains, according to the company.

Trius is also working with the FDA on an SPA for a second Phase III trial testing the transition from I.V. to oral dosing of torezolid in ABSSSI. The company hopes to have the SPA finalized in the third quarter.