Cyteir Therapeutics’ lead program in cancer is on track to start mid-stage testing later this year and the company plans to support that study with a fresh $80 million in capital, a Series C round of funding that includes the type of investors that could take the company public.
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Lexington, Massachusetts-based Cyteir develops drugs that tap into into a genetic vulnerability of tumors. Cancer cells proliferate in part because of their ability to repair damage to their DNA. Cyteir’s drugs are called DNA damage response inhibitors—they interfere with these repair pathways. When cancer cells can’t repair their DNA, the mounting damage causes them to self-destruct, a concept called synthetic lethality.
The first drugs that employed synthetical lethality targeted a DNA repair protein called PARP. The landscape of PARP-blocking therapies includes cancer drugs marketed by Clovis Oncology, GlaxoSmithKline, and AstraZeneca.
Cyteir’s lead program, CYT-0851, is a small molecule designed to block a repair protein called RAD51. In preclinical and early clinical testing, the company says its drug showed potential to selectively target both blood cancers and solid tumors. Cyteir also said that research so far suggests that its drug can be combined with other therapies that induce DNA damage to cancer cells. Furthermore, Cyteir said its drug could be less toxic to the patient compared to other DDR inhibitors.
CYT-0851 is currently in the dose-escalation part of a 200-patient Phase 1/2 clinical trial. Later this year, the company expects to advance the oral drug to Phase 2, where it will be tested as a monotherapy in both blood cancers and solid tumors. In addition, the company said it will start studies testing the drug in combination with other cancer therapies. Cyteir also plans to expand preclinical research of other cancer therapies.
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Cyteir is one of several biotechs trying to bring synthetic lethality beyond PARP. Others include Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Tango Therapeutics, which has a research alliance with Gilead Sciences, and Montreal-based Repare Therapeutics. Earlier this week, Anticancer Therapies of China raised about $10 million to support its pipeline of five preclinical synthetic lethality programs.
Cyteir’s new round of funding was led by RA Capital Management along with Janus Henderson Investors, Acuta Capital Partners, Ally Bridge Group, Avidity Partners, Ample Plus Fund, and CaaS Capital Management. These investors are so-called crossover investors, firms that back both privately held and public companies. Their investments are viewed as a signal that a company is preparing to go public.
“We are intrigued by the potential of RAD-51 inhibition, particularly due to early findings suggesting it could be helpful in treating lymphomas and other hematologic malignancies,” Derek DiRocco, partner at RA Capital Management, said in a prepared statement.
Also participating in Cyteir’s latest financing were earlier investors Novo Holdings, Venrock, Lightstone Ventures, DROIA Ventures, Osage University Partners, as well as another undisclosed healthcare-focused fund based in the U.S. Combined with the financing announced Thursday, Cyteir said it has raised more than $140 million total.
Photo: iLexx, Getty Images
