Adcendo, a biotech company focused on the development of breakthrough antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) for the treatment of cancers with a high unmet medical need, has completed a successful Series A extension financing round, raising a further €31 million, following the €51 million Series A financing in April 2021.
Adcendo’s lead ADC asset, uPARAP, is a novel cancer target overexpressed on the cell surface of sarcoma and other mesenchymal cancers. The expression profile and internalising properties of uPARAP make it an attractive ADC target. uPARAP ADC has shown potential to be effective across multiple sarcoma subtypes, an indication with high unmet medical need.
Adcendo intends to use the proceeds from the financing to initiate a broad clinical development programme for uPARAP ADC in sarcoma and is also planning to advance the development of its 2nd ADC pipeline asset with Development Candidate Nomination (DCN) planned in the first half of 2024.
Michael Pehl, Chief Executive Officer of Adcendo, said: “2022 was a pivotal year for Adcendo with the expansion of our team, uPARAP ADC Development Candidate Nomination and the recent linker/payload license agreement with Duality Biologics. This financing will enable us to ensure a broad development program of our lead asset uPARAP and further advance our 2nd first-in-class ADC pipeline asset.”
Ohad Hammer, Board Director of Adcendo and Partner at Pontifax Venture Capital, commented: “Adcendo’s ADC capabilities offer significant potential and I look forward to closely working with the team to develop their pipeline assets and bring innovative therapies to patients in need.”
