The company has several targeted therapeutics in early-stage trials and preclinical development for cancer types with high expression levels of the protein.
Pictured: Stack of $100 bills / iStock, Nattakorn Maneerat
Swiss biotech Alentis Therapeutics announced Thursday it had closed its Series C funding round, counting $105 million in earnings to support the development of its lead assets.
The financing push was led by Novo Holdings A/S, RA Capital Management and Jeito Capital. Existing investors Schroders Capital, Bpifrance and BB Pueros Bioventures also took part. Naveed Siddiqi, senior partner at Novo Holdings, will join Alentis’ board as part of the funding round.
Claudin-1 is a tight junction protein that, in cancer and fibrosis in other chronic diseases, is over-expressed and exposed in areas beyond the tight junction. These exposed Claudin-1 proteins remodel and stiffen the extracellular matrix (ECM), making the tumor inaccessible to immune system cells.
Alentis is a leading player in the Claudin-1 space with promising preclinical data showing the potential of targeted therapeutics in cancer types with high expression levels of the protein, Siddiqi said.
The company’s technology leverages the specificity and potency of its anti-Claudin-1 antibodies to target the exposed proteins, reverse the pathologic changes in the ECM and sensitize the tumor to immune-based or chemotherapeutic treatments, according to the website.
Claudin-1 Candidates
Alentis’ most mature candidate, ALE.F02, carries a silenced effector function to target the extracellular matrix of fibrotic tissues and organs.
ALE.F02 is being developed for kidney fibrosis, for which a Phase II study is scheduled to start in the second half of 2023. The candidate is also being studied in lung fibrosis and will be ready for an Investigational New Drug (IND) application later this year, and in liver fibrosis, for which a Phase Ib study is set to start in the second quarter of 2023, the company’s site states.
In January, results from a Phase I study showed that ALE.F02 was well-tolerated at all dose levels in healthy volunteers and demonstrated initial signals of biological activity.
Alentis’ other lead antibody, ALE.C04, silences Claudin-1-mediated carcinogenic signaling that opens up the stiffened ECM to improve immune access to the tumor. ALE.C04 is being developed for Claudin-1-positive cancers, for which IND-enabling studies are ongoing.
Alentis is also advancing an antibody-drug conjugate for Claudin-1-positive tumors, with toxicology studies scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2023.
Tristan Manalac is an independent science writer based in metro Manila, Philippines. He can be reached at tristan@tristanmanalac.com or tristan.manalac@biospace.com.
