ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Dec. 18, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Respira Therapeutics, Inc. (Respira) (http://www.respiratherapeutics.com), announced today that it recently closed on an investment from Santa Fe, New Mexico-based venture capital funds Sun Mountain Capital and Cottonwood Technology Fund, as well as private individuals. Brian Birk, Managing Partner of Sun Mountain Capital, was elected to the Respira Therapeutics, Inc. Board of Directors as part of the transaction. "Respira is very pleased to welcome Sun Mountain as a new investor and for the continuing support and confidence of Cottonwood in our future success. The funds raised in this round will be used to transition Respira from an inhaler technology-based company into a pharmaceutical development company targeting drug / inhaler products used for the treatment of important diseases. We have relocated our headquarters from Santa Fe, NM and our technical laboratory from Austin, TX, both to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where our initial inhaler technology was invented at the University of New Mexico", said Bob Curtis, Respira Therapeutics CEO.
"We believe Respira has developed a truly breakthrough high efficiency, dry powder inhaler (DPI) drug delivery technology that is poised to revolutionize the inhaled prescription therapeutics market," said Brian Birk of Sun Mountain. "I look forward to working with this highly experienced team and the Board to advance this technology to clinical trials and ultimately the market."
"We are excited to have Sun Mountain co-invest with us in this exciting opportunity and to endorse the potential we saw in Respira's technology as founding investors," said David Blivin of Cotton Technology Fund.
About Respira Therapeutics, Inc.
Respira Therapeutics, Inc., based in Albuquerque, NM and founded in 2010 by seed stage venture capital fund Cottonwood Technology Ventures, is a development stage company focused on commercializing its "best-in-class", high efficiency, dry powder inhaler (DPI) drug delivery technologies for the treatment of important diseases with unmet clinical need. To date, Respira has performed extensive in-vitro and preliminary clinical testing demonstrating its advanced DPI prototypes can deliver drugs 2-4X more efficiently to the lung than commercially available DPI technologies. Earlier in 2013, Respira entered into an agreement with a large pharmaceutical company to evaluate Respira's technology. Respira is investigating applications of its breakthrough DPI technology in both respiratory and systemic diseases and is also seeking partners for co-development opportunities.