Acrivon Nets $100M for Protein Tech That Picks Sufferers for Focused Most cancers Meds

For focused most cancers remedy to work, it’s not sufficient to establish the precise targets to hit with a drug. Simply as necessary is deciding on the sufferers acceptable for a given remedy. Scientists at Acrivon Therapeutics say their method brings benefits over genetic-based affected person choice. The Acrivon expertise is approaching its first assessments in people with a drug acquired from a giant pharmaceutical firm. The IPO market, just like the climate, has turned chilly however Acrivon nonetheless discovered a approach to elevate practically $100 million for its scientific trial plans.

Acrivon got here near the nine-figure IPO it needed, nevertheless it needed to slash the inventory worth and promote extra shares with a view to pull it off. This previous week, the biotech provided greater than 7.5 million shares for $12.50 apiece, which raised $94.4 million. When Acrivon set preliminary terms for the IPO earlier this month, it deliberate to supply 5.9 million shares priced within the vary of $16 to $18 every.

Watertown, Massachusetts-based Acrivon was in a position to get nearer to the $100 million mark by putting a separate and concurrent deal. Chione Restricted, the most important shareholder within the firm previous to the IPO, bought 400,000 shares on the IPO worth, raising another $5 million. Acrivon shares now commerce on the Nasdaq beneath the inventory image “ACRV.”

Matching a most cancers drug to a affected person is usually performed in response to genomics. That works when tumors have single driver mutation that causes cells to change into cancerous. However Acrivon notes that greater than 90% of all human cancers don’t have such mutations. Relatively than on the lookout for a genetic goal, Acrivon measures proteins which are vital to tumor-driving mechanisms. The corporate contends this proteomics method could possibly be relevant to nearly all of cancers that wouldn’t have genetic alterations within the drug goal itself.

“Our founding imaginative and prescient is that proteomic biomarkers allow direct measurement of the disease-driving mechanisms and permit for correct matching with drug motion, unbiased of underlying genetic alterations,” Acrivon stated in its updated prospectus.

The science upon which Acrivon’s expertise is predicated stems from the analysis of co-founder and CEO Peter Blume-Jensen, whose pharma trade expertise contains senior roles at EMD Serono and Merck & Co. In a 2001 article revealed within the journal Nature, Blume-Jensen and co-author Tony Hunter describe how most cancers is pushed by dysregulated protein signaling.

Acrivon, whose identify is derived from the Greek phrase for “correct,” fashioned in 2018. The corporate’s tech platform, referred to as Acrivon Predictive Precision Proteomics, or AP3, develops tumor biopsy assessments that can be utilized to match a drug to the sufferers almost certainly to reply to it. These assessments, referred to as OncoSignature, measure for elevated ranges of proteins {that a} tumor depends upon and which are particular to biochemical pathways addressed by a drug. Acrivon has used OncoSignature to information the event of internally found drug candidates which are at the moment preclinical. For OncoSignature’s first check in a scientific trial, the biotech turned to molecule that stalled within the arms of Eli Lilly.

The Lilly drug, prexasertib, has a protracted historical past with a number of stops. Initially developed beneath a collaboration between Array Biopharma and Icos, the drug joined Lilly by way of the pharma large’s $2.1 billion acquisition of Icos in 2007. The guts of that deal was blockbuster erectile dysfunction drug Cialis; prexasertib was nonetheless preclinical on the time.

Prexasertib is designed to deal with most cancers by interfering with a manner tumors repair themselves. The fast and uncontrollable cell progress attribute of most cancers wreaks havoc on most cancers DNA. Tumors depend on DNA harm response, a restore mechanism ruled by sure proteins. The Lilly drug, which Acrivon has renamed ACR-368, is designed to dam CHK1 and CHK2, two proteins that briefly cease cell replication with a view to enable restore of DNA harm. Blocking these proteins prevents these repairs, main as an alternative to cell dying.

No CHK1/2 inhibitors have been accepted by the FDA but. Lilly superior its CHK1/2-blocking drug to a number of Part 1 and Part 2 scientific trials however stopped work on the small molecule in 2019. In response to Acrivon’s prospectus, Lilly’s Part 2 assessments in ovarian most cancers led to an general response fee of simply 12%. Acrivon believes that by figuring out doubtless responders, its expertise can result in higher response charges.

Acrivon was in a position to get hold of pretreatment samples from a subset of ovarian most cancers sufferers who participated in prexasertib trials run by the Nationwide Most cancers Institute (NCI) and Lilly. In response to the IPO submitting, a third-party biostatistician reviewed the trial information and OncoSignature scores and located that utilizing the Acrivon check to establish sufferers acceptable for the remedy boosted the response fee to 47% within the NCI trial 58% within the Lilly examine. Acrivon additionally stated the evaluation was in a position to get rid of sufferers who’re much less attentive to the drug, which might have spared them from a remedy that may not assist them.

Acrivon plans to advance ACR-368 into single-arm Part 2 research in ovarian, endometrial, and bladder cancers. Individuals within the trials, which the corporate stated may help potential regulatory submissions, will likely be assigned to subgroups in response to their sensitivity to the check drug as decided by OncoSignature.

Acrivon acquired prexasertib in 2021 for reasonable. In response to the IPO submitting, the biotech paid $5 million in money and issued Lilly shares within the firm. Acrivon may pay Lilly as much as $168 million in milestone funds linked to the progress of the drug, plus royalties from gross sales if it reaches the market. The settlement additionally provides Lilly restricted first rights to barter the reacquisition of the most cancers drug. That proper expires 45 days after the completion of sure scientific milestones that aren’t specified within the IPO submitting.

Whereas ACR-368 provides Acrivon an asset prepared for a brand new slate of mid-stage assessments, its preclinical applications tackle different pathways key to DNA harm response. One addresses a protein referred to as WEE1; the opposite a protein referred to as PKMYT1. There are rivals creating medication that tackle DNA harm response. GSK acquired Sierra Oncology largely due to the promise of myelofibrosis drug momelotinib, however that biotech’s pipeline additionally contains CHK1 inhibitor SRA737. Part 2 work on adavosertib, a WEE1-blocking small molecule that AstraZeneca licensed from Merck, was stopped this past summer. However others which have reached the clinic with WEE1 inhibitors embrace Zentalis Prescribed drugs, Debiopharm, and Influence Prescribed drugs.

Acrivon’s inventory market debut comes practically one yr after it raised $100 million in Sequence B financing. Previous to the IPO, the biotech raised $119.8 million, in response to the submitting. Chione is Acrivon’s largest shareholder, proudly owning 18.4% of the corporate after the IPO. RA Capital Administration owns a 7.5% stake. Acrivon reported its money place was $83.9 million on the finish of June. Many of the IPO money will go towards improvement of ACR-368. Between $80 million and $90 million is deliberate for outlining the manufacturing processes and product specs of the drug in addition to creating a companion diagnostic, in response to the submitting.

In time, Acrivon plans to check ACR-368 in different cancers based mostly on drug sensitivity assessed by OncoSignature. These cancers embrace human papilloma virus constructive squamous cell most cancers of the top and neck, in addition to anal and cervical cancers. The IPO submitting states that the corporate plans to make use of a few of the new capital to start out a mid-stage check in sufferers with HPV-positive tumors. One other $15 million to $20 million is put aside for finishing the preclinical testing main as much as an investigational new drug utility for at the least one of many firm’s preclinical applications. The corporate will use the remaining money to proceed improvement of the AP3 expertise and for different R&D work. Acrivon expects the money to help the corporate into the fourth quarter of 2024.

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