Medicxi invests $40m in D3 Bio, enhancing oncology pipeline
The investment will accelerate the development of D3 Bio’s pipeline of oncology compounds, particularly its lead asset DS3-001.
D3S-001 is a new generation small molecule KRAS G12C inhibitor with differentiated properties and could potentially address the large unmet need of patients with cancers harboring KRAS G12C mutations.
The treatment is currently in phase 2 development in non-small cell lung cancer, colorectal cancer, and pancreatic cancer.
Data on DS3-001 is also set to be presented at AACR on April 8, 2024.
George Chen, CEO and co-founder of D3 Bio, commented: “Medicxi’s longstanding success has been built on its uniquely strong ties to pharmaceutical companies and its extensive team of world class subject matter experts, drug hunters and developers who act as partners for the innovators in which they are investing.
“Their expertise and knowledge will be instrumental in accelerating our mission to advance breakthroughs in cancer treatment to transform the lives of patients across the globe. With Medicxi’s lead investment and participations from existing investors, D3 Bio successfully closed its Series A+ financing round.”
Francesco De Rubertis, co-founder and partner at Medicxi, described George and his team as ‘exceptional drug innovators’ focused on developing new treatments where there are ‘enormous unmet patient and market needs’.
“Our mission is to support the innovative genius of entrepreneurs by providing the critical capital, expertise and experience that form the all-important ‘bridge’ to pharma,” he added.
The company’s other assets include D3S-002, a novel small molecule ERK1/2 kinase inhibitor currently being tested in an ongoing phase 1 trial, having shown promising antitumor activity.
In addition, bi-specific antibody D3L-001 is also in phase 1 development and has demonstrated ‘potent and synergistic’ anti-tumor effect via HER2 guided CD47 co-blocking in both in vitro and in vivo models.
D3 Bio, which is funded by investors, including Boyu Capital, Matrix Partners China, HongShan, Temasek, and WuXi AppTec's Corporate Venture Fund, has now raised a total of $250m to date.
Francesco De Rubertis will be joining the board of D3 Bio.
