Pyxis Oncology raised $152 million in a Series B financing round to advance its differentiated portfolio of antibody-drug conjugates licensed from Pfizer earlier this month.
Pyxis Oncology raised $152 million in a Series B financing round to advance its differentiated portfolio of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) licensed from Pfizer earlier this month.
Pyxis is aiming the Pfizer ADCs against solid and hematological cancers. Pyxis, which was founded in 2019, licensed the assets, now known as PYX-201 and PYX-203, from Pfizer earlier this month. PYX-201 is a first-in-class non-internalizing ADC that targets a tumor-restricted antigen that is overexpressed in several solid tumor types to selectively kill tumor cells while enhancing a robust anti-cancer immune response. PYX-203 is an ADC that targets an antigen expressed in certain hematologic malignancies. PYX-203 utilizes a highly potent DNA-damaging agent designed to reduce the potential for development of drug resistance and disease relapse.
When those assets were licensed from Pfizer, Pyxis Chief Scientific Officer Ronald Herbst said the ADCs represent a next generation that use innovative conjugation technologies. By combining highly specific antibodies targeting clinically validated tumor markers with established linkers and both novel and proven payloads, he added.
In addition to the Pfizer-licensed products, Pyxis will also use funds from the Series B to advance an ADC it gained from LegoChem Biosciences. That ADC, known as PYX-202, targets a tumor cell surface antigen that is expressed in a range of solid tumors. PYX-202 is an ADC designed to reduce toxicity by using a highly stable linker and a well-understood cytotoxic agent.
The company will also continue to advance other immuno-oncology products it is developing for its pipeline against a broad range of therapeutic indications.
Lara Sullivan, chief executive officer of Pyxis, said the financing from the Series B round will strengthen the company’s ability to build a differentiated portfolio of biologics and will also provide the company with an avenue to accelerate its efforts to drive its ADC programs and others into Phase I testing.
Pyxis, based in Cambridge, Mass., was founded by Longwood Fund. When it launched, the company was backed by Bayer in a $22 million Series A. The Series B was backed by new investors, including Perceptive Advisors, RA Capital Management, Pfizer Ventures, BVF Partners, L.P., Janus Henderson Investors, Cormorant Asset Management, HBM Healthcare Investments, funds managed by Tekla Capital Management LLC, Acuta Capital Partners, Ridgeback Capital Investments, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), Laurion Capital Management, Logos Capital, and LifeSci Venture Partners. This round brings Pyxis’ total funding to $174 million.
“We are grateful for the support of these highly sophisticated investors as we strive to improve the lives of patients with difficult-to-treat cancers by progressing a diverse portfolio of potentially groundbreaking ADCs and immunotherapies,” said Sullivan, the former founder and president of Pfizer spinout, SpringWorks Therapeutics.
In conjunction with the Series B financing, Christian Schetter, Managing Director at Arix Bioscience, Gotham Makker, Head of Strategic Investments at RTW Investments, LP, and Chris O’Donnell, Partner at Pfizer Ventures, will join the Pyxis Board as Directors.
