Fremont, CA-based Ardelyx said today it has nailed down $30 million in a Series B venture round. Much of the cash will go toward developing Ardelyx’s lead drug candidate for a couple different uses, for patients with a form of irritable bowel syndrome and others with high blood pressure.
Amgen Ventures participated in the round, along with Ardelyx’s existing investors New Enterprise Associates, CMEA Capital, and angels. The company has now raised $56 million since it was founded in 2007.
Investors should find out pretty soon whether this bet will pay off. Ardelyx said its lead drug, RDX5791, is in the midst of a mid-stage trial of 180 patients with constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome, and a separate clinical trial looking at whether the drug, in a variety of doses, can get rid of excess sodium in the blood to treat high blood pressure. Both studies are expected to be completed by “early 2012,” Ardelyx said in a statement. Ardelyx has two other drugs in development that haven’t yet entered clinical trials.
