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A Houston-based clinical trials company has opened an online funding campaign.

FibroBiologics, which is developing fibroblast cell-based therapies for chronic diseases, has launched a campaign with equity crowdfunding platform StartEngine. The platform allows anyone, regardless of their net worth or income level, to invest in securities issued by startups.

The funding, according to a press release, will be used to support Fibrobiologics’ ongoing operations and advance its clinical programs in multiple sclerosis, degenerative disc disease, wound care, life extension and cancer.

“We are thrilled to partner with StartEngine on this campaign. StartEngine has over 600,000 investors as part of their community and has raised over half a billion dollars for its customers,” said FibroBiologics founder and CEO Pete O’Heeron, in the release.

“This is an exciting time for FibroBiologics as we continue to advance our clinical pipeline and develop innovative therapies to treat chronic disease,” he continues. “This new funding will fuel our growth in the lab and bring us one step closer to commercialization.”

The campaign, which launched this week, already has more than 100 investors at the time of publishing and has raised nearly $2 million, according to the page. The minimum investment is set at approximately $500, and the company’s quoted valuation is $252.57 million.

In 2021, FibroBiologics announced its intention to go public. Last year, O’Heeron told InnovationMap on the Houston Innovators podcast about the company’s growth plans and technology specifics.

Only two types of stem cells and fibroblasts can be used in cell therapy for regenerative treatment, which is when specialists take healthy cells from a patient and inject them into a part of the body that needs them most. As O’Heeron explains in the podcast, fibroblasts can do this more effectively and cheaper than stem cells.

“(Fibroblasts) can essentially do everything a stem cell can do, only they can do it better,” says O’Heeron. “We’ve done tests in the lab and seen them outperform stem cells by as little as 50% to as much as about 220% across different pathological pathways.”

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