Lotus Tissue raises $26M, licenses USC technology

Newco Lotus Tissue Repair Inc. (Cambridge, Mass.) raised $26 million in a series A round from Third Rock. The company also exercised an exclusive option from the University of Southern California to license worldwide rights to a patent portfolio for recombinant collagen type VII (COL7) technology. Lotus Tissue plans to develop the technology as a protein replacement therapy to treat dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB), a condition where the skin and other body surfaces can develop deep blisters. The university will participate in the clinical development of the technology under a sponsored research agreement and is currently screening DEB patients for a Phase I/II trial funded by NIH. ...