- Financing led by TCGX, including new investment from BVF
Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners (Lightspeed) and Perceptive
Advisors
- Three first-in-class ADC assets funded through clinical
proof of concept
LONDON, May 21, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Pheon Therapeutics (Pheon), a leading Antibody-Drug
Conjugate (ADC) specialist developing next generation ADCs for a
wide range of hard-to-treat cancers, today announces the completion
of a $120m Series B financing to fund
the development of its pipeline of differentiated ADCs. The
financing was led by TCGX with participation from other new
investors BVF Partners, Lightspeed and Perceptive Advisors,
alongside existing investors Atlas Venture, Brandon Capital,
Forbion, and Research Corporation Technologies.
The new financing will be used to further advance Pheon's
differentiated ADC pipeline through clinical proof of concept. The
first three assets are aimed at an undisclosed novel target which
is highly overexpressed in a wide range of solid tumors. The first
program has demonstrated an unprecedented preclinical therapeutic
index while utilizing a DAR8 Topoisomerase-1 inhibitor
linker-payload, whereas the next two ADCs utilize other
linker-payload technologies to mine the broad potential of this
target. The company expects to start its first Phase 1 clinical
trial in 2024 and rapidly advance towards dose expansion cohorts.
The capital will also enable the expansion of Pheon's suite of
in-house technology platforms to generate optimized ADC
constructs.
Cyrus Mozayeni MD, Chief
Executive Officer of Pheon, said: "This raise is a critical
step as we transition into a clinical-stage company. The proceeds
will fund a robust clinical development pathway for our first three
ADC assets, which are based on an exceptional novel target. We are
excited to be working on these promising candidates and look
forward to sharing their potential therapeutic benefits with
patients."
Cariad Chester, Managing
Partner of TCGX, commented: "The recent clinical successes
of optimized ADC constructs validate the promise of this
therapeutic modality to treat solid tumors. Continued progress
against cancer is predicated upon innovative approaches to new
targets. Pheon has an exciting pipeline of first and best-in-class
ADC programs and I look forward to working with the company as it
enters into the next stage of growth and development."
As part of the financing, Cariad
Chester, Managing Partner of TCGX, will join the board of
directors.
Notes to Editors
About Pheon Therapeutics
Pheon Therapeutics is an Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC)
specialist developing a pipeline of ADCs, based on novel targets
and novel linker payloads, to treat solid tumors. Pheon's lead
program is a first-in-class ADC against a novel target that is
highly overexpressed in solid tumors across a broad range of
hard-to-treat cancer types. Pheon is backed by expert, specialist
healthcare investors TCGX, Atlas Venture, BVF Partners, Brandon
Capital, Forbion, Lightspeed Venture Partners (Lightspeed),
Perceptive Advisors, and Research Corporation Technologies. Pheon
has a world class, proven leadership team that brings together the
best of ADC engineering, clinical and managerial expertise, and
track record. For further information, please visit
www.pheontx.com
About.TCGX
TCGX is a healthcare investment firm dedicated to advancing
disruptive medicines and supporting companies that can improve the
lives of patients. TCGX invests in both private and public
companies led by exceptional entrepreneurs focused on developing
better treatment options for patients. TCGX has investment teams in
Palo Alto and New York City. For more information, please
visit www.tcgcrossover.com
About BVF Partners
BVF Partners is a San
Francisco-based investment management firm with a 30 year
history of investing in public and private biotechnology companies.
For more information, please visit: www.bvflp.com
About Lightspeed
Lightspeed Venture Partners is a multi-stage venture capital
firm focused on accelerating disruptive innovations and trends in
the Enterprise, Consumer, Health, and Fintech sectors. Over the
past two decades, the Lightspeed team has backed hundreds of
entrepreneurs and helped build more than 500 companies globally
including Affirm, Carta, Cato Networks, Epic Games, Faire, Forty
Seven, Guardant Health, Mulesoft, Navan, Netskope, Nutanix, Rubrik,
Sharechat, Snap, Udaan, Ultima Genomics and more. Lightspeed and
its global team currently manage $25B
in AUM across the Lightspeed platform, with investment
professionals and advisors in the U.S., Europe, India, Israel, and Southeast Asia. www.lsvp.com
About Perceptive Advisors
Founded in 1999 and based in New York,
NY, Perceptive Advisors is an investment management firm
focused on supporting the progress of the life sciences industry by
identifying opportunities and directing financial resources to the
most promising technologies in healthcare. For more information
about Perceptive, visit www.perceptivelife.com
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SOURCE Pheon Therapeutics