Alentis Therapeutics to Advance Anti-Claudin-1 ADCs to Treat Solid Tumors on $181.4 Million Financing

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Editor's note: this story was originally published on BioPharmInternational.com.

Clinical-stage biotechnology company Alentis Therapeutics (Alentis), which specializes in developing treatments for Claudin-1 positive (CLDN1+) tumors and organ fibrosis, announced that it has raised $181.4 million in Series D financing. The financing was supported by a syndicate of top-tier biotech investors. OrbiMed led the way, with Novo Holdings and Jeito Capital as co-leads. This financing will support Alentis’ efforts to develop a significant pipeline of CLDN1-targeted antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) drugs for treating solid tumors, according to a Nov. 12, 2024 press release (1).

In addition to the lead investors, new investors such as Frazier Life Sciences, Longitude Capital, Catalio Capital, Piper Heartland Healthcare Capital, and Avego Bioscience Capital contributed to the financing, while existing investor RA Capital Management also provided significant backing, along with support from Morningside Venture Investments, BB Pureos, Bpifrance (via its InnoBio 2 fund) as well as other early institutional investors.

“This financing is a testament to the transformational potential of CLDN1 [ADCs] for the treatment of solid tumors,” said Roberto Iacone, chief executive officer of Alentis, in the company press release. “Let me take this opportunity to extend a warm welcome to our new investors. We’re excited to execute our development strategy and deliver clinical data for our programs over the next 12–18 months.”

The company intends to use proceeds from the financing to conduct Phase I/II clinical trials of ALE.P02 and ALE.P03, two ADCs targeting CLDN1, as well as conduct further development of its pipeline. Some of the proceeds will go toward general corporate purposes. FDA cleared an investigational new drug application for a Phase I/II clinical trial of ALE.P02 (with a tubulin inhibitor) to study the ADC candidate in advanced or metastatic CLDN1+ squamous solid tumors. This trial is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2025. Meanwhile, ALE.P03 (with a topoisomerase I inhibitor) is expected to begin a first-in-human trial in patients with CLDN1+ tumors in 2025.

“With this financing, Alentis is now well positioned to advance its CLDN1 antibody-drug conjugates, which have the potential to be first and best-in-class therapies for the treatment of cancer,” said Dina Chaya, partner at OrbiMed, in the press release.

“ADCs have shown their potential to be highly effective cancer treatments,” added Naveed Siddiqi, senior partner, Novo Holdings, Venture Investments, in the release. “Alentis has an exciting pipeline of first-in-class ADCs, and we are proud to have co-led this round. We are looking forward to seeing the data generated from the first clinical trials of ALE.P02 and ALE.P03.”

In addition, three new board members have been appointed as part of the financing and will join the Alentis board of directors. The three new board members are Chaya, who has over 20 years of experience in healthcare investments with a focus on biopharma and medical technology; Anna Chen, principal at Frazier Life Sciences, who has been involved in the investment and building of many of Frazier Life Sciences’ biopharmaceutical portfolio companies over the past seven years; and Brian Liu, managing director at Longitude Capital, who brings more than 10 years of biopharma consulting and investing experience, with a focus on transformative healthcare innovation.

Reference

1. Alentis Therapeutics. Alentis Therapeutics Raises $181.4 Million in an Oversubscribed Series D Financing to Advance the Clinical Development of Anti-Claudin-1 ADCs in Solid Tumors. Press Release. Nov. 12, 2024.

Source: Alentis Therapeutics