● Investment co-led by Jonathan Milner and Cambridge Enterprise
● US-based R42 Group, ACF Investors, o2h Ventures, Syndicate Room and the Cambridge
Angels investing
● Funding will enable the development of Spirea’s pipeline of antibody drug conjugate
therapeutics for the treatment of solid tumours
Cambridge, UK, 14 June 2022: Spirea Limited, a Cambridge company created to advance a new generation of antibody drug conjugate (ADC) therapeutics, has announced that it has secured funding of £2.4 million with investments from high-profile UK and US investors. Spirea will use the funds to initiate its pipeline of superior and differentiated ADCs in the treatment of solid tumours where there is a high unmet need.
ADCs combine the cell killing activity of a cytotoxic drug with the cancer targeting capability of a monoclonal antibody. Although the ADC concept has been exemplified with approved products, many ADC programmes have failed to progress through clinical development because of dose-limiting toxicities, restricted efficacy, and limitations in the range of treatable cancers.
Spirea’s technology allows more cytotoxic drug to be attached to the targeting antibody (a higher drug-to-antibody ratio) which means more drug is delivered to the cancer cell. This allows for the development of stable and tailored ADCs incorporating a variety of drug payloads at varying levels of potency and different modes-of-action. This will result in cancer therapeutics with significantly better efficacy and safety profiles.
Dr Myriam Ouberai, Chief Executive Officer at Spirea, commented: “We welcome our new investors and thank our existing investors for their continuing confidence in Spirea. With our novel approach to building ADC therapeutics, we aim to radically improve the treatment options for patients with hard-to-treat cancers. Having shown the flexibility and strength of our technology, we look forward to the next exciting stage in the development of Spirea’s ADC pipeline and to building significant strategic partnerships.”
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