RA-incubated Aerovate to deploy $72.6M series A for inhaled imatinib for PAH

Aerovate emerged from RA Capital’s incubator last week with a $72.6 million series A round to support clinical testing of an inhaled dry powder formulation of imatinib for PAH that’s designed to avoid the systemic side effects that scuttled Novartis’ attempt to gain approval of the drug in the indication.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension results from hyperproliferation of cells in the terminal arteries of the lungs. Standard of care includes the use of vasodilators, which prolong survival by increasing blood flow; however, they don’t address the core issue of proliferation. ...