Vivace Therapeutics – a small molecule discovery and development company developing first-in-class cancer therapies targeting the Hippo pathway – announced the closing of a $35 million Series D financing. The funding round was led by RA Capital Management, an existing investor, and included investments from other existing investors, such as Canaan Partners and Cenova Capital.
The proceeds from the funding will support the continued clinical development of the company’s first-in-class and best-in-class transcriptional enhanced associate domain (TEAD) autopalmitoylation inhibitor, VT3989, with an initial focus on mesothelioma. In conjunction with the financing, Jake Simson, Ph.D., partner at RA Capital Management, has joined the company’s board of directors.
VT3989 is a novel small-molecule cancer therapeutic that targets the Hippo pathway by inhibiting palmitoylation of members of the TEAD protein family. And the compound has been evaluated in more than 150 patients to date in an ongoing and open-label Phase 1 clinical study and is the first and only member of the TEAD autopalmitoylation inhibitor class for which compelling clinical efficacy data have been publicly reported. Along with promising efficacy, VT3989 has demonstrated excellent safety in the Phase 1 trial, positioning the compound with a best-in-class profile.
The clinical findings for VT3989 have been particularly notable in patients with mesothelioma who have failed chemotherapy and immuno-oncology combination regimens, which represent the only approved therapies in this indication. And these results will be presented at a major medical conference in the second half of 2025. Based on the data, Vivace is working to advance VT3989 toward a randomized registrational Phase 3 clinical trial in patients with mesothelioma and intends to discuss its plans with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) later this year.
KEY QUOTES:
“Since participating in Vivace’s Series C round, we have had a front-row seat for the tremendous progress the company has made in its efforts to address the significant unmet treatment need of patients with mesothelioma. The team’s impressive drive and continued execution made our decision to lead this Series D round an easy one. Based on the clinical progress to date, we believe that VT3989 is well positioned to serve as a dramatic leap forward in the mesothelioma standard of care, offering hope to patients battling a terrible disease with limited treatment options.”
- Jake Simson
“The results of our clinical evaluation of VT3989 to date give us confidence that the appropriate next step for the program is advancement into a registrational Phase 3 trial in patients with mesothelioma. We are now laser focused on executing against this strategy, including completing our ongoing clinical study and meeting with FDA to align on next steps. We are grateful to RA Capital for leading this round, as well as the continued support from Canaan Partners and Cenova Capital. This new funding will prove critical to enabling our successful development of VT3989.”
- Sofie Qiao, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Vivace Therapeutics
