Alphamab Oncology has raised $100 million to advance a varied pipeline it says it inherited from Suzhou Alphamab. This includes compounds in development for infertility, ophthalmology and infection, but the biotech has flagged oncology as its focus.
"The capital will support the global clinical development of this pipeline, especially its second-generation immuno-oncology medicine,” the Suzhou, China-based company said in a statement. It will also allow Alphamab to expand its global clinical and commercial teams and bankroll the construction of a biologics manufacturing site.
The funding comes from OrbiMed and Heritage Provider Network, as well as a handful of China- and Asia-based investors: Advantech Capital, PAG, China Venture Capital Fund and Janchor Partners.
Alphamab lists 30 assets between its “innovation" and “biosimilar" pipelines on its website, with oncology treatments making up the bulk of its work. It has four programs in the clinic, including two bispecific antibodies, according to the statement: KN046, an antibody that targets PD-L1 and CTLA-4, and KN026, which targets HER2. Both are currently in phase 1—KN046 in Australia with multiple phase 1/2 trials to follow in China and KN026 in China, with a second phase 1 study coming up in the U.S.
The other two clinical-stage programs are KN035 (envafolimab), a PD-L1 antibody developed for subcutaneous delivery that is in pivotal trials in China, and KN019, an immunomodulator that is wrapping up phase 1. Alphamab expects to start a phase 2 trial of KN019 in the first half of next year.
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Alphamab is seeking partnership opportunities to boost its foothold in oncology, according to the company’s CEO and Chairman Xu Ting.
“Alphamab Oncology has started constructing a commercial manufacturing site, with a number of cGMP production lines meeting NMPA, EMA and FDA requirements, allowing Alphamab Oncology to cover the entire product development life cycle from early screening and engineering of antibody/protein drugs, cell line construction and small batch tests, pilot scale amplification and preparation of clinical research samples, to mass production of commercialized products,” said Dong Lyu, the executive director of PAG, in the statement.