Actym Therapeutics, a Berkeley, CA-based provider of a new drug modality to treat solid tumors, raised $59.5M in Series A funding.
The round was led by Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund and Illumina Ventures, with GKCC LLC as a new investor joining current shareholders Panacea Ventures and JLo Ventures.
Led by Christopher Thanos, Actym Therapeutics has engineered a new drug modality harnessing the genetically modified bacterial vehicle that safely introduces therapeutic payloads to activate the immune response in the tumor microenvironment. To achieve targeted anti-tumor effects, the company has developed a systemically administered treatment that exploits intrinsic TME-specific metabolites, enabling selective enrichment of the bacterial vehicle in tumors. After cell-specific entry, its lead candidate, ACTM-838, positively activates tumor-resident myeloid cells and delivers two synergistic payloads, optimized IL-15 and STING, working with an anti-tumor immune response.
The company intends to use the funds to support entry into a Phase 1 clinical trial. This trial is designed to achieve proof of mechanism for ACTM-838, demonstrating its ability to selectively enrich in tumors, deliver payload combinations there, and positively re-activate the immuno-compromised TME. In addition, the trial is designed to assess the dose selection, safety, efficacy and pharmacokinetics of ACTM-838.
FinSMEs
18/10/2023