Malvern’s PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals has switched its focus from diabetes treatments to orphan diseases by closing a nearly $15 million round of financing to help advance its new lead drug in the latter field, writes John George for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

According to Jonathan P. Mow, PhaseBio’s CEO, the biopharmaceutical company is now targeting conditions that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the country and are related to cardiopulmonary disorders.

“This is a shift that’s been gradually occurring over the last two years,” he said. “It culminated with this financing.”

The company managed to raise $14.7 million at the start of this year through the sale of convertible notes to its previous investors, including New Enterprise Associates, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson Innovation.

The new funds will go toward conducting mid-stage clinical testing of PhaseBio’s new lead drug candidate, PB1046, for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension.

The company will also use the funds to further evaluate PB1046 for other potential indications, such as cardiac dysfunction in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy patients. Some will also be used to evaluate its new pipeline products based on its proprietary ELP technology platform.

Read more about the Malvern company’s new focus in the Philadelphia Business Journal here.