Having banked $60 million from Eli Lilly in the spring, Aktis Oncology has now closed an upsized $175 million series B that saw the U.S. Big Pharma rejoin a range of big-name investors in the radiopharma biotech.
Lilly was one of a number of Aktis’ returning backers that also included fellow U.S. Big Pharma Bristol Myers Squibb and Merck & Co.’s MRL Ventures Fund. The round was led by RA Capital Management, RTW Investments and Janus Henderson Investors, with new investors including Avidity Partners and an undisclosed life-sciences-focused investment fund.
RA Capital Management Partner and Managing Director Andrew Levin, M.D., Ph.D., will join Aktis’ board of directors. RTW’s Lauren Lee, Ph.D., and Janus Henderson’s Vish Sridharan, M.D., will join the board as observers. The latest fundraise follows an $84 million series A extension round in 2022.
"The overwhelming support from high caliber investors underscores the progress we have made on our pipeline, platform, and supply chain capabilities, exemplified by the significant opportunity for AKY-1189, our first-in-class miniprotein alpha radioconjugate targeting Nectin-4 in development for several tumor types," Aktis CEO Matthew Roden, Ph.D., said in a Sept. 30 release.
“With over $300 million in cash, we are well-positioned to prosecute several opportunities to expand the benefit of this exciting modality into new patient populations,” Roden added.
The Big Pharma attention on Aktis is based on the strength of a platform for delivering alpha emitters to cancer cells using miniproteins, an approach that could potentially destroy tumors without causing intolerable harm to healthy tissues. While Novartis has established the modern radiopharma field with the beta-emitting drugs Pluvicto and Lutathera, Aktis sees more potent alpha emitters as the future of the sector.
In May, Lilly joined the Aktis ascendancy, handing over $60 million upfront to work on therapeutic and diagnostic products against multiple targets. Aktis kept control of its lead asset, a nectin-4 prospect, which is already in the clinic.