Founded as 480 Biomedical, Inc. by Drs Whitesides and Langer - well-known academic luminaries in the fields of chemistry, materials science and biotechnology - in 2018 the firm was renamed Lyra Therapeutics. Spun off from cardiovascular device developer Arsenal Medical Inc. and organized around developing a clinical-stage bioresorbable scaffold for occlusive disease in the superficial femoral artery, the firm is structured around using materials engineering to bring life-changing therapies to patients. Creating precisely tuned medicines designed to enable patients to breathe freely, the firm is working on a new therapeutic approach to treat debilitating ear, nose and throat diseases that impact the lives of millions of people. With the objective of transforming the ENT treatment paradigm- providing effective front-line solutions for physicians and new treatment options for their patients - Lyras transmucosal therapeutic system - being evaluated in a clinical study - directly targets tissues that are difficult or impossible to access with existing therapies. The Lyra team has developed a proprietary platform that enables sustained, local delivery of medications over an extended period of time. Clinical results, so far indicated this new therapeutic approach has the potential to provide significantly improved patient outcomes beyond the limited treatment and surgical options currently available for ENT diseases. Well funded from its early days, in late April 2020 the firm listed its anounced IPO objective for some $52.5M
