Artios Pharma collected $115 million from an oversubscribed series D that will support its growing ambitions for its pipeline of DNA damage response (DDR)-targeting cancer prospects.
The biotech is looking to widen the scope of its clinical program for its lead candidate, alnodesertib, and the funds will help it enroll additional patients with second-line pancreatic cancer and third-line colorectal cancer for evaluation in the program.
Alnodesertib is currently being studied in multiple settings and has demonstrated durable responses in patients with eight different solid tumor types whose tumors harbor ATM deficiency, Artios said in its Nov. 17 press release. These patients currently have no specifically approved treatment options, the biotech pointed out.
Earlier this year, Artios reported that the drug prospect showed a 50% confirmed overall response rate among patients with ATM-negative solid tumors when combined with low-dose irinotecan. The results came from the biotech's Stella phase 1/2 study.
Artios also plans to use its new funds to take its second potential first-in-class candidate, known as ART6043, into phase 2 development after unveiling encouraging early data at this year's European Society for Medical Oncology congress.
The drug is a DNA polymerase theta (Polθ) inhibitor that the company calls the “most advanced clinical Polθ program in the industry." Artios plans to study the candidate in patients with BRCA-mutant HER2-negative breast cancer who are eligible to receive a PARP inhibitor.
The series D was co-led by founder investor SV Health Investors and new investor RA Capital Management. New investor Janus Henderson Investors also jumped on board, while Artios touted “broad support” from its existing pool of investors.
“This Series D accelerates our potential path to registration for both alnodesertib and ART6043, broadening development for the next generation of DNA damage response (DDR) therapeutics to indications among the highest of unmet need across pancreatic, colorectal, and breast cancers, where median survival is often measured in months,” CEO Mike Andriole said in the company’s release.
Artios’ pipeline, which also features a DDR inhibitor antibody-drug conjugate (DDR-ADC) discovery program, is based on the idea that tumor cells rely heavily on DDR pathways to manage DNA damage. By inhibiting key components of the DDR, a DDR inhibitor can kill off cancerous cells while sparing healthy ones, according to the company.
SV Health Investors, which has been on board since the beginning, considers the new financing and the recent appointment of Andriole as CEO “exciting steps in Artios’ continued growth and its transition toward becoming a commercially oriented organization,” Managing Partner Nikola Trbovic commented in a statement.
Andriole took over for Artios' founding CEO Niall Martin, Ph.D., in August after six years at the now Jazz Pharmaceuticals-acquired Chimerix and a track record of delivering new first-in-class oncology therapies in indications of high unmet need, Artios said at the time.
Martin had established Artios nearly a decade ago with its first $33.2 million series A round in 2016 and was known for his hand in identifying what is now AstraZeneca’s pioneering PARP inhibitor Lynparza, which also inhibits the DDR pathway.
The company’s last funding round was in 2021, when it raised $153 million in a series C. Before that, Artios’ work caught the eye of Merck KGaA and Novartis, both of which have entered into separate partnerships with the company.