Israeli co Nectin Therapeutics raises $25m

Israeli biotechnology company Nectin Therapeutics has announced that it has completed a $25 million Series A financing round led by IBF and Peregrine Ventures, with participation from aMoon Fund and other existing investors.

Jerusalem-based Nectin is developing novel targeted immunotherapies to address resistance to approved immuno-oncology treatments. The company also announced today dosing of the first patient in its Phase I clinical trial of NTX1088, the company's first-in-class PVR (CD155) blocker, in cancer patients with locally advanced and metastatic solid tumors. The trial is being conducted at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MD Anderson) with an investment from the Cancer Focus Fund, LP. The trial will include up to 90 patients treated with NTX1088 as a monotherapy and in combination with a PD-1 blocker.

The Series A funding will be used to support the ongoing clinical evaluation of NTX1088, and to further advance the company's pipeline of targeted immunotherapies and Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs).

NTX1088 is a first-in-class high-affinity monoclonal antibody directed against PVR, a transmembrane protein expressed on cancer cells and associated with resistance to PD-1 and PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Nectin cofounder and CSO Dr. Pini Tsukerman said, "PVR blockade by NTX1088, with its first-in-class differentiated mechanism of action, has demonstrated compelling preclinical anti-tumor activity both as a monotherapy and in combination with other cancer immunotherapies. Importantly, NTX1088 has potent activity in ICI refractive models where TIGIT or PD-1 blockade has failed to show a benefit."

Nectin CEO Fabian Tenenbaum added, "Nectin has developed a highly innovative pipeline that has the potential to fundamentally overcome the limitations of existing IO therapies, delivering new treatment options for patients suffering from difficult-to-treat cancers, and we look forward to the results of the Phase 1 clinical trial of NTX1088."

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on November 30, 2022.