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https://endpts.com/artbio-raises-23m-to-make-radioligand-therapies-for-prostate-cancer/

Artbio emerges with $23M to make radioligand therapies for prostate cancer, with field still in 'early days'

June 21, 2023

Another startup is entering the radiopharma market, backed by F-Prime Capital and Omega Funds, with an experienced team from Novartis and Bayer.

Artbio is launching with $23 million and a pipeline of alpha radioligand therapies, including a PSMA-directed prostate cancer program. It’s an area of oncology targeted by others in the field, including Novartis’ Pluvicto — which ran into supply issues this winter — as well as the recently debuted Convergent Therapeutics.

The therapy is wrapping up a so-called Phase 0 study and will likely enter a US and European Phase I trial in the first half of next year, Artbio CEO Emanuele Ostuni told Endpoints News. The trial will include patients who have previously taken Pluvicto and those who haven’t.

Ostuni, the former leader of Novartis Oncology’s cell & gene therapy unit in Europe, is joined by board chair Ted Love, whose Global Blood Therapeutics sold to Pfizer last year and who became the chair of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization earlier this month. Artbio’s senior team also includes Vicki Jardine and Gjermund Olsen, Bayer’s former radiotherapy clinical and tech development leaders, respectively.

Dozens of radiotherapy companies are working on potential treatments using a variety of radioisotopes, decaying atoms that emit particles to destroy tumors. Other startups from recent years include Aktis, RayzeBio, ITM, and AdvanCell. Bayer bought one and Novartis is partnered with another.

“We are still at the very early days of this field growing up. When you look at the level of sophistication, there’s still a lot more science that has to be developed, while there’s still a lot of low-hanging fruit from a clinical perspective that can be had,” Ostuni said.

There’s also a lack of coverage of Novartis’ treatment in some European markets, which the startup sees as an opportunity: “There’s many countries in Europe where although the therapy is approved by the regulators, it’s not reimbursed yet, so it’s not really accessible to many patients,” Ostuni added.

Artbio is creating small molecules to help deliver the isotope known as Pb212, whereas Pluvicto uses lutetium, and Convergent’s radioantibody enlists a rare isotope named actinium.

“This is slightly the contrarian bet in terms of choice of isotope, and we like that,” Alex Pasteur, a partner at F-Prime, said in an interview.

Small molecules or “very, very, very small low-molecular weight peptides” are needed for “fast trafficking to the tumors given the 10.6-hour half-life of the isotope,” Ostuni said.

The seed financing will bankroll the lead asset, AB001, and a subsequent Series A would likely fund the rest of the Phase I and two other undisclosed programs, Ostuni said. The biotech’s co-founders, Øyvind Bruland and Roy Larsen, have experience inventing an approved alpha particle emitter, a prostate cancer drug marketed by Bayer as Xofigo.

Both Xofigo and Artbio’s programs are in the alpha emitter camp, whereas Pluvicto belongs to the beta side of the field, a key debate at the European Society for Medical Oncology in 2021. Bayer had tried pairing Xofigo with Roche’s Tecentriq, but the data showed combo therapy wasn’t better than either as single agents. Following those results, the company scrapped another study testing Xofigo with Keytruda in non-small cell lung cancer.