Despite a tough financing market, ArriVent Biopharma closed a $155 million Series B to fund a pivotal Phase III trial of its non-small cell lung cancer asset.
Pictured: Lung scan showing cancer/Courtesy Shutterstock
Despite a tough financing market, ArriVent Biopharma closed a $155 million Series B to fund a pivotal Phase III trial of its non-small cell lung cancer asset.
The funding comes at a time when Series B deals are significantly down. Crunchbase shows that in Q1 of 2023, U.S. companies are on track for a record low compared to the past nine quarters.
The company is developing a brain-penetrant EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) that targets EGFR-activating mutations in NSCLC. Licensed from partner Allist, furmonertinib is already approved in China.
NSCLC is one of the most significant cancer types in the world, ArriVent’s CEO Bing Yao told BioSpace. About 10–25% of cases have an EGFR mutation.
Multiple EGFR TKIs are on the market already for NSCLC, including AstraZeneca’s Iressa and Boehringer-Ingelheim’s Gilotrif. However, EGFR mutations have emerged as a challenge for these initially highly effective drugs.
The latest stage study of furmonertinib is in NSCLC patients with exon 20 insertion mutations, present in an estimated 1.5% of cases. The drug was superior to Iressa in a Phase III double-blind study in 1L EGFR mutant NSCLC.
Takeda won approval in September 2021 for its oral NSCLC drug targeting EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations. However, the company took a hit in Europe last year when it withdrew its application after the EMA said more clinical data was needed to confirm benefits as a second-line therapy.
Johnson & Johnson is the other big contender for the exon 20 mutation market. Its Rybrevant is currently the only antibody treatment specifically targeting that EGFR mutation. It’s approved as a second-line therapy after platinum chemotherapy. On its 2022 earnings call, CEO Joaquin Duato said the drug will be a key driver of J&J’s growth into 2025.
Furmonertinib can potentially become a first-line monotherapy without chemotherapy treatment, Yao said. Pursuing exon 20 first, which he estimated to be about a $2 billion market, the team is expanding indications to target the entire EGFR mutation spectrum.
The drug is also highly brain penetrant, notable because 30% of NSCLC patients have brain metastases, Yao said.
The new funding is tacked on to the company’s $150M Series A launch in June 2021. Sofinnova Investments led the Series B with General Catalyst, including all the existing investors plus many new ones.
The cash will finance a global Phase III trial and additional studies for more indications of furmonertinib. Yao expects results from the global study in 2026.
The funds will also fuel pipeline and staffing expansions, Yao said. The currently 40-head team will expand to 50-60 this year, he noted.
