Adcentrx Therapeutics – a biotechnology company dedicated to revolutionizing Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC) therapeutics for cancer and other life-threatening diseases – announced the closing of a $38 million Series A+ financing. The funding round was led by Eight Roads Ventures with participation from F-Prime Capital, ABio-X, Delta Capital, Trinity Innovation Fund, and other strategic investors. Life Venture Partners and Lighthouse Capital acted as Adcentrx’s financial advisors. Adcentrx plans to use the proceeds from the financing to advance its proprietary ADC therapeutic pipeline into the clinic.
ADCs are known as a class of therapies that combine the target specificity of antibodies with the potency of conventional chemotherapy drugs. And this class has revolutionized the treatment landscape in oncology with the potential to positively impact other serious diseases.
Adcentrx differentiates itself by utilizing its team’s industry-leading experience in ADC drug development as well as deep expertise in chemistry and biology. And the team has pioneered the development of an ADC technology toolbox addressing key components of protein conjugate design to solve challenges that arose in previous generations of ADCs.
Adcentrx implements this optimized approach to fuel the development of a robust pipeline of first-in-class and best-in-class therapies. And the company’s lead candidate ADRX-0706 is anticipated to enter a first-in-human Phase 1 clinical trial in the second half of 2023. Plus Adcentrx is developing additional candidates in parallel with the goal of advancing at least one into the clinic each year.
KEY QUOTES:
“We are thrilled to have Eight Roads and our investors supporting our mission to bring innovative treatments to patients. Over the last two years, we have made significant progress advancing our emerging therapeutic pipeline that implements our proprietary and differentiated technology platform. This new round of funding from our investors will enable Adcentrx to quickly advance our safer and more efficacious conjugate therapies for patients in need. This year will be pivotal for Adcentrx, when we transition from the discovery stage into a clinical-stage company.”
- Hui Li, Ph.D., Founder and CEO of Adcentrx
“ADCs as a therapeutic modality have flourished in recent years with a transformative inflow of active investment and strategic transactions. Adcentrx has demonstrated good potential of developing differentiated ADCs for unmet medical needs. We are very excited to lead this round of financing to empower Adcentrx to accelerate its work in bringing new hope to patients in need.”
- Tao Huang, Ph.D., Principal of Eight Roads Ventures
“Through its innovative work in the ADC field, Adcentrx exemplifies the type of company that ABio-X was designed to support as a global platform for developing the next generation healthcare companies. We are pleased to join together with other quality investors in this financing round and look forward to continuing our support of Adcentrx through the platform and board representation.”
- Jeff Jonas, President and CEO of ABio-X
“Adcentrx has made significant progress in building its preclinical pipeline and platform technology since our initial investment. Together with our ABio-X colleagues, we are pleased to reaffirm our commitment to support the company’s continued growth and development.”
- Meng Jiang, Head, Venture Capital at CBC Group
“As an innovation company with a global vision, Adcentrx leverages its technology platform to address the challenges of ADC drug development. It is a privilege to participate in this round of financing that attracted investment from renowned funds and industry players, indicating the company’s growing prominence within the industry. We look forward to Adcentrx’s continued progress of advancing its novel ADCs into the clinic.”
- Lei Hong, Executive Director of Lighthouse Capital
