On April 3, 2024 Alterome Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company pioneering the development of next generation, small molecule targeted therapies for the treatment of cancer, reported the closing of a $132 million Series B financing (Press release, Alterome Therapeutics, APR 3, 2024, View Source [SID1234641758]). Proceeds from the fundraise will be used to support the advancement of multiple wholly-owned pipeline programs into the clinic, including a highly specific AKT1 E17K inhibitor and a KRAS selective inhibitor.
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The financing was led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives, with participation by Canaan Partners, Invus, Driehaus Capital Management, Digitalis Ventures, Blue Owl Capital, and existing investors Orbimed, Nextech Invest, Vida Ventures, Boxer Capital, and Colt Ventures. Concurrent with the financing, Josh Richardson, M.D., a Managing Director within Life Sciences Investing at Goldman Sachs Alternatives, and Uwe Schoenbeck, a Partner at Canaan Partners, were named to the Board of Directors.
"We are pleased with a financing of this magnitude that enables Alterome to advance multiple programs into the clinic within the next 12 months," said Eric Murphy, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of Alterome Therapeutics. "The precision oncology field has arrived at a special moment with the exciting evolution of both drug discovery and precision medicine. A unique integration of structure-guided drug discovery with deep translational biology is facilitating the development of novel therapies that address previously inaccessible proteins. We are thrilled to have the support of this visionary group of new and existing investors, who share our enthusiasm to face the challenge of targeting well-known cancer-causing mutations deemed undruggable for the previous 20 years."
Leveraging its Kraken platform, a structure-guided machine learning approach to drug discovery, the company is advancing a pipeline of precision, small molecule therapies targeting a broad spectrum of validated oncogenic targets. Alterome’s founding mission focused on mutation-selective and isoform-selective approaches designed to specifically target cancer cells over normal cells, enabling greater inhibition of key cancer drivers while simultaneously enhancing the therapeutic safety profile. The preclinical pipeline features a covalent AKT1 E17K mutation-selective inhibitor and a KRAS isoform-selective inhibitor targeting 90% of KRAS mutations including the most common mutations G12V and G12D. These two lead programs are designed for patients with limited treatment options and are expected to begin clinical testing over the next year.
"Alterome is advancing an exciting portfolio of therapies targeting validated oncogenic drivers, with clear paths to early clinical signals," said Dr. Josh Richardson, Managing Director within Life Sciences Investing at Goldman Sachs Alternatives. "Goldman Sachs is excited to join this exceptional group of investors to support the company in delivering a new class of precision oncology drugs that enable cancer patients to live longer and better lives."