On March 6, 2023 Bicara Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing dual-action biologics to elicit a potent and durable anti-tumor response, reported that it completed an oversubscribed $108 million Series B financing to advance its lead program BCA101 and its pipeline of investigational candidates to treat solid tumor cancers (Press release, Bicara Therapeutics, MAR 6, 2023, View Source;utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=bicara-therapeutics-announces-oversubscribed-108-million-series-b-financing-to-advance-clinical-stage-pipeline-of-dual-action-biologics-to-treat-cancer [SID1234628162]).
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The financing was co-led by Red Tree Venture Capital and RA Capital Management, with participation from existing investors, including F-Prime Capital, Eight Roads Ventures, Invus, Piper Heartland Healthcare Capital and Premji Invest. New investors include Omega Funds, Bioqube Ventures, Acorn Bioventures and Janus Henderson Investors. In conjunction with the financing, Krishna Polu, M.D., Principal at Red Tree Venture Capital, Jake Simson, Ph.D., Partner at RA Capital Management, and Ketan Patel, M.D., Partner at F-Prime Capital, will join the Company’s Board of Directors.
"The support from this strong syndicate of investors positions us to execute on future clinical studies in the U.S. and Europe of our lead program, BCA101, a first-in-class bifunctional antibody that we believe can be very impactful across multiple tumor types including head and neck cancers," said Claire Mazumdar, Ph.D., MBA, Chief Executive Officer of Bicara Therapeutics. "A significant unmet need remains in head and neck cancer, and the Bicara team is moving with great urgency and focus to deliver this potential new treatment option that could elevate the standard of care."
BCA101 is a dual-action bifunctional antibody designed to inhibit EGFR and disable TGF-b directly at the tumor site, achieving superior anti-tumor response with an improved therapeutic window. Bicara has previously reported promising efficacy and safety data from its ongoing Phase 1/1b clinical trial and intends to present additional data at an upcoming medical conference in 2023. Additionally, the Company continues to advance Investigational New Drug-enabling studies for BCA356, a second precision tumor modulator program.
"RA Capital Management is excited to co-lead this round to support Bicara’s efforts to develop a differentiated approach to treating cancer," said Jake Simson, Ph.D., Partner at RA Capital Management. "Bicara has reported compelling clinical data demonstrating BCA101’s potential as a more efficacious treatment option for patients with several types of solid tumors and we are committed to supporting this exceptional team as they advance this program toward key data milestones."
"We have been impressed and encouraged by the significant progress the team at Bicara has made to demonstrate the efficacy of BCA101, which has shown clear signals of activity both as a single agent and in combination," said Krishna Polu, M.D., Principal at Red Tree Venture Capital. "Through its localization of TGF-b inhibition, BCA101 has the potential to address resistance mechanisms to approved immunotherapies and substantially improve outcomes for patients with EGFR-expressing tumors. This investment is a strong fit for our fund as we seek to invest in early-stage companies that are developing transformational biologics that address diseases with high unmet needs."