Aprea AB, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel anticancer therapies targeting the tumour suppressor protein p53, has completed a Series B financing round, raising EUR46 million (approximately USD 51 million).
The international syndicate was co-led by Versant Ventures and 5AM Ventures, with participation by Sectoral Asset Management. HealthCap acted as the local lead investor. Aprea's main shareholder is KDev Investments AB, an investment vehicle owned by Karolinska Development AB.
The funds will be used to advance the clinical development of lead program APR-246, a first-in-class anticancer compound reactivating the tumour suppressor protein p53. Aprea is completing the Phase Ib part of a Phase Ib/II clinical study in high-grade serous ovarian cancer with APR-246 and plans to initiate the randomised Phase II part of the trial shortly. In addition, further exploratory trials in other cancer indications, including both solid and haematological tumours, are planned. The Company will also establish its strategic leadership team in the US.
"We are grateful for the strong support of this top-tier group of investors, who share our excitement about the potential of APR-246 in treating cancer," says Bernd R Seizinger, MD, PhD, Executive Chairman of Aprea. "The funding enables us to further advance this promising product candidate not only in its lead indication – ovarian cancer – but to also explore its activity in a wide variety of other tumour types. Approximately 50 per cent of human tumours carry deficient p53, which is often associated with resistance to anticancer drugs and poor survival. So, a compound like APR-246 that specifically works in tumours with mutant p53 has the potential to truly transform the way many types of cancer are treated.
"We will also use a portion of the proceeds to establish a strong foothold in the US Given that much of our clinical and business development activities will be conducted in North America, it will be more efficient to establish our strategic leadership team there."
Guido Magni, MD, PhD, Partner at Versant Ventures and designated Aprea Board member, says: "p53 is one of the most important and intriguing fields of research in oncology, so far elusive to pharmacologic treatment, and we are very pleased to work with the experienced team of Aprea to make APR-246 a drug useful to patients with different types of cancer."
Scott M Rocklage, PhD, Managing Partner at 5AM Ventures, says: "We look forward to working with the Aprea team and a high quality venture capital syndicate as the company transitions into the premier global effort in the p53 field, driven by APR-246's promise in a number of solid and liquid tumor settings."
Jonathan Hepple, PhD, Partner at Rosetta Capital and Board member of Aprea on behalf of KDev Investments AB, says: "We are delighted to attract such experienced international investors to Aprea. The broadening of our investor base provides a strong vote of confidence in the quality of Aprea's clinical candidate and management team."
Johan Christenson, MD, PhD, Partner at HealthCap and designated Aprea Board member, says: "We are intrigued by the p53 opportunity combining targeted breakthrough therapies with a great commercial potential. We are delighted that a Scandinavian company has been able to attract such an experienced syndicate of venture capital investors."
