Lutris Pharma – a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on improving anti-cancer therapies by reducing cutaneous dose-limiting toxicity – announced that it has secured $30 million in financing to advance the development of LUT014, an innovative topically applied gel aimed at reducing EGFRi-induced rashes, a common adverse side effect of these cancer-fighting therapies. This funding round was led by Columbus Venture Partners and Pontifax Venture Capital, an existing investor, with Peregrine Ventures and aMoon Fund also participating.
Although EGFRi therapies are highly effective for the treatment of cancer, they have dose-limiting skin toxicities, leading to substantial discontinuation of patients’ treatment in less than three months due to intolerable acneiform rashes. And LUT014, a novel B-Raf inhibitor, is used for patients who develop dose-limiting rashes, potentially enabling them to continue EGFRi treatment with an improved quality of life.
In October 2024, Lutris completed the enrollment in the international phase 2 trial of LUT014 in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) treated with EGFRi therapy who develop dose-limiting acneiform rash. The company expects to report top-line results from this trial during the first half of 2025 at a major medical meeting.
KEY QUOTES:
“We are grateful to these investors who recognize the potential of LUT014 to address the significant unmet need caused by the toxicity of EGFRi therapies, which are otherwise effective therapeutic regimens. This financing will enable us to continue the clinical development of LUT014 with the goal of treating the acneiform rash to improve life quality and enabling adherence to EGFRi therapies. The development and ultimate commercialization of LUT014 aligns with our mission to improve anti-cancer therapy effectiveness and to meaningfully impact the quality of life for patients.”
- Noa Shelach, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Lutris Pharma
“Based on the broad use of EGFRi’s to treat cancer and the dermal toxicity that often emerges, many of these patients do not receive the optimal treatment against their cancer, either due to dose reduction or outright discontinuation in response to the intolerable dermal toxicity. Despite extensive research efforts in the past, no standard of care has emerged to deal with this prevalent issue, leading to a significant unmet medical need. By reversing the inhibitory effect of EGFRi therapy on downstream signaling in the skin cells, we believe that LUT014 has the potential to become an important therapeutic for EGFR inhibitor induced skin toxicity and can have a tremendous impact for patients who currently have no other effective treatment options.”
- Antoni Ribas, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman and Founder of Lutris Pharma
“Acneiform rash is the most common side effect of EGFRi therapies, with up to 90% of patients experiencing an adverse dermatologic event, taking a toll which can be detrimental to their therapy. It is all too common that patients terminate treatment due to these effects, leading to continued disease progression and prolonged treatment. The need to manage this condition is crucial and Lutris is doing just that with the advent of LUT014. As development of LUT014 proceeds, we can foresee a paradigm shift wherein EGFRi treatment will be regularly coupled with LUT014 as a valuable adjunct. This aligns with aMoon’s mission of helping people live longer, healthier lives, and we are proud to support Lutris on their journey towards success.”
- Dr. Yael Gruenbaum-Cohen, DMD, PhD, Partner at aMoon Fund
