One-carbon Therapeutics has closed an oversubscribed 153 million SEK ($16.2 million) private placement financing round supported by current and new investors and private Swedish family offices. 

The company says it will use the net proceeds from the private placement to strengthen its financial position and expand its ongoing Phase I/II ODIN clinical study of TH9619, an MTHFD1/2 inhibitor. 

“We are very encouraged by the strong confidence and enthusiasm shown by our existing and new investors, who recognise the potential of our lead asset. Their support is crucial for securing rapid execution and delivery of the potential new therapy to patients in need,” said Ana Slipicevic, Chief Executive Officer. 

TH9619 is a first-in-class, potent, small-molecule, and dual inhibitor of MTHFD1/2, highly overexpressed and cancer-specific enzymes within the one-carbon metabolic pathway.  

TH9619 kills cancer cells via a dual mechanism of action: (1) inhibition of MTHFD1 traps folate leading to thymidine depletion, (2) inhibition of nuclear MTHFD2 disrupts DNA damages response repair pathways. 

The ODIN Phase I/II study is a first-in-human, multicentre, open label, dose escalation and expansion study, aiming at evaluating safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and preliminary anti-tumour activity of TH9619 as monotherapy in subjects with advanced refractory solid tumours, including colorectal cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, head & neck squamous cell carcinoma, gastric cancer or gastroesophageal junction cancer.  

The trial is currently being conducted across academic and clinical research centres in the United Kingdom, France, and Spain, with expansion planned across additional European sites in the coming months.

Diana Turner, Deputy Editor, DDW