Gloucester Pharmaceuticals likely made its venture capitalists some fast money today. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company—which scored $29 million in venture capital last week—won an unambiguous vote of confidence today from an FDA advisory panel for its drug for a rare form of lymphoma.
Gloucester’s drug for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, romidepsin, was recommended by the FDA’s cancer drug panel, which gave 10 votes in favor of the treatment with just one abstention. The FDA usually follows the advice of its expert panels, and it now has a Nov. 12 deadline to make its decision on whether to clear the drug for the market.
The FDA panel’s vote removes some risk, and no doubt raises the value of Gloucester, which will now likely be able to start marketing its first product. The Gloucester drug also will likely represent a new treatment option for a disease that afflicts about 1,500 people each year in the U.S. Gloucester raised its latest round from Novo A/S, Apple Tree Partners, ProQuest Investments, Prospect Venture Partners, and Rho Ventures.
