A company developing cancer therapies whose mechanism of action relies on so-called synthetic lethality has drawn a new round of venture capital financing.
Based on Cambridge, UK, Artios Pharma said it raised $84 million in a Series B round led by France-based Andera Partners and Netherlands-based Life Sciences Partners, while Pfizer Ventures and Novartis Venture Fund joined as new investors. Existing shareholders AbbVie Ventures, Boston-based SV Health Investors, Arix Bioscience, M Ventures and IP Group also participated.
Artios plans to use the money to advance development of small-molecule programs that target DNA damage response, or DDR, including a lead program targeting DNA polymerase theta. DDR is the natural process by which the DNA in cells is repaired due to damage from smoking, chemicals, ultraviolet light and other factors. However, cancer cells also rely on alternative damage repair processes, which allow them to survive and proliferate, and Artios’ approach of targeting DNA polymerase theta is designed to inhibit those processes and thus selectively kill cancer cells, also known as synthetic lethality.
In addition to polymerase theta, the company is also working on an as-yet undisclosed DDR target, as well as a DNA nuclease target for which it is collaborating with Masaryk University in the Czech Republic, developing potential cancer treatments that target DNA nucleases involved in DDR.
The company compares its approach to that of drugs targeting poly ADP-ribose polymerase or PARP, which is also a DDR pathway. Approved PARP inhibitors include AstraZeneca’s Lynparza (olaparib), for ovarian, fallopian tube and peritoneal cancer, including ovarian cancer that carries germline BRCA mutation; Tesaro’s Zejula (niraparib), for ovarian, fallopian tube and peritoneal cancer; and Clovis Oncology’s Rubraca (rucaparib), for the aforementioned indications, including those with BRCA mutations.
Other DDR targets that have been investigated have included ATM, ATR, CHK1 and WEE1, according to a study published last year. Vancouver, British Columbia-based Sierra Oncology is also developing drugs that work through DDR, including one currently in Phase I/II clinical development for solid tumors and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma that targets CHK1. Another drug, still in preclinical studies, targets CDC7.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
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