Alentis Adds To Bank Balance And Rides The Claudin Wave
Series C Raises $105m
Executive Summary
While most of the R&D attention in the hot space of claudins has focused on targeting CLDN18.2, the Swiss biotech believes its CLDN1 programs have the advantage of a broader expression profile.
In a time when biotechs are finding it tough to raise funds, Alentis Therapeutics has topped up its already-sizeable cash pile with the addition of a couple of heavyweight healthcare investors to advance its anti-fibrotic candidates through the clinic.
The Switzerland-headquartered firm, which calls itself the Claudin-1 (CLDN1) company, has announced a $105m series C financing, led by Jeito Capital together with newcomers Novo Holdings and RA Capital Management. Existing investors including BB Pureos Bioventures, Bpifrance (through its InnoBio 2 fund) and Schroders Capital also participated in the round which follows a series B financing in June 2021 that raised $67m.
Initially the proceeds will be used to support Alentis’s two lead anti-CLDN1 antibodies. ALE.F02 is set to move into Phase II trials for the treatment of advanced kidney, lung and liver fibrosis, while a Phase I program is being readied for its lead oncology asset, ALE.C04, the first potential treatment to target CLDN1-positive tumors.
Alentis claims to be pioneering a novel approach to modify and reverse the course of disease progression targeting CLDN1, "a previously unexploited target that plays a key role in the pathology of tumors with immune evasive properties and fibrotic disease across multiple organs." The claudin space in oncology has recently seen the success of CLDN18.2 in gastric cancers, notably with the recent Phase III success of Astellas Pharma, Inc.’s zolbetuximab but Alentis believes that CLDN1 has the advantage of a much broader expression profile. SC147405
CEO Roberto Iacone, who said the firm was "absolutely delighted with this support from our investors,” stated that there were "huge unmet needs in organ fibrosis and cancer, and this funding enables us to continue with the important work we’re doing in the CLDN1 space and generate clinical data from both our programs." Alentis hopes to have meaningful readouts within the next 12-18 months.”
The company, which is headquartered in Basel and has an R&D subsidiary in Strasbourg, France, along with clinical operations in the US, has also established a platform to engineer CLDN1 antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and bi-specific antibodies that the series C cash will help to further develop. Alentis has also been expanding its management team of late, notably hiring Luigi Manenti as chief medical officer; he previously served as team leader for solid tumors in Novartis AG’s oncology business unit.
Naveed Siddiqi, a senior partner at Novo Holdings who will join Alentis's board of directors, said Alentis had pioneered "a world-leading position in the CLDN1 space and is led by highly capable drug developers." The company, which launched in 2019 with a $13.2m series A round, is underpinned by the research of Thomas Baumert at the University of Strasbourg and the French National Institute of Health (Inserm), while CEO Iacone was global head of rare diseases research at Roche Holding AG before co-founding Bright Peak Therapeutics AG and Ridgeline Therapeutics.
Alentis's ability to raise such a substantial sum reflects the interest in claudins, although most of the development to date has centered around CLDN18.2. As well as Astellas, AstraZeneca PLC has also been active in the latter space, signing a deal in March with China's Keymed Biosciences Inc. to develop CMG901, a potential first-in-class ADC targeting CLDN18.2 in gastric cancer; the UK major already has an alliance with China's Harbour BioMed on a CLDN18.2-targeting T-cell engager currently in Phase I for gastric and pancreatic cancers. (Also see "Competition Grows In Claudin18.2 As AstraZeneca Seals Antibody Conjugate Deal" - Scrip, 23 Feb, 2023.)
Indeed, much of the research into claudins has come from China and a number of the country's drugmakers have also recently pulled off licensing or joint development deals on the CLDN18.2 target, including Sichuan Kelun Pharmaceutical Co Ltd. with Merck & Co., Inc. and CARsgen Therapeutics with Roche. (Also see "Chinese Biotechs Ascend Deal-Making By Partnering Up Claudin 18.2 Agents" - Scrip, 2 Mar, 2023.)