An impressive array of Big Pharma backers lined up to ensure Strand Therapeutics has the funding needed to take its mRNA-based solid tumor drug further into the clinic.
New Strand supporters that joined for the $153 million series B round included the venture arms of Regeneron and Amgen, while Eli Lilly returned for the fundraise. Other investors included Sweden’s Kinnevik, which led the round, as well as the Alderline Group, JIC-VGI, LG Technology Ventures, Gradiant Corp., FPV Ventures, Playground Global, ANRI and Potentum.
Boston-based Strand said the funds would be used to advance its pipeline, which is led by STX-001. The programmable mRNA therapy, which expresses the cytokine interleukin-12 (IL-12) directly from the tumor microenvironment, entered a phase 1/2 study last year.
Phase 1 data from the study unveiled at the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference in June from patients with immune checkpoint inhibitor-refractory solid tumors included a confirmed complete response and multiple partial responses.
“Our initial STX-001 phase 1 data provides early and strong clinical validation of our platform’s capabilities,” Strand CEO Jake Becraft, Ph.D., said in an Aug. 7 release. “We have observed systemic immune activation and anti-tumor responses, including responses in non-injected lesions, across multiple tumor types.”
“Now is an exciting period of expansion for our existing clinical work, as well as the exciting breakthrough assets in our pipeline, all with the potential to transform the treatment of cancer and other serious diseases,” Becraft added.
Unlike traditional mRNA therapies, Strand’s approach uses self-replicating mRNA, which it claims “ensures localized and durable therapeutic activity.” It’s clearly not the only organization that sees potential in this “first of a kind” tech, with BeiGene—now known as BeOne Medicines—participating in the biotech’s $52 million series A in 2021.
Further back in development, Strand is also working on STX-003, which the company describes as a “world-first systemically administrable mRNA therapy with tumor targeting that is programmed to avoid off-target payload delivery.” In other words, STX-003 is designed to sidestep liver toxicity by heading straight to IL-12-expressing tumor cells.
“We believe programmable RNA is the next frontier in therapeutics, and Strand has built the leading platform to unlock it,” Christian Scherrer, head of health at Swedish investment firm Kinnevik, said in the release. “Their early clinical data is outstanding, and the systemic delivery capability has the potential to reshape how we treat disease, starting with cancer, with more disease targets on the horizon.”
Having risen to prominence due to its use in COVID vaccines, mRNA was back in the headlines this week when the Department of Health and Human Services announced its intention to end mRNA vaccine work funded by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). The move marked a major escalation of Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign against both vaccines and mRNA in general.