Biopharmaceutical precision oncology startup Fusion Pharmaceuticals has received a commitment of up to $26 million CAD ($20 million USD) from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).
Fusion Pharmaceuticals views targeted alpha therapeutics as the “next generation” of radiation therapy.
This funding comes ten months after Fusion Pharmaceuticals’ $140 million CAD Series B. The startup said the net-new capital will be used to expand the use of its platform that connects medical isotopes to targeting molecules which it says can create novel cancer treatments. It plans to expand the platform by investing in new partnerships as well as targeting molecules that could lead to new treatments.
Funds will also be put toward the company’s lead clinical candidate, FPI-1434, currently in a Phase 1 trial for treating solid tumours. FPI-1434, which Fusion Pharmaceuticals has called its “linker technology,” is intended to combine the precision targeting of an antibody with the potency of alpha-particle emitting medical isotopes. This, the company claims, helps to attack and eradicate cancer cells across multiple tumour types.
Founded in 2014 at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont., Fusion Pharmaceuticals’ goal is to cure cancer by developing targeted alpha therapeutics, a method that employs radioactive substances that undergo radioactive decay to treat diseased tissue at close proximity.
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The company views this approach as the “next generation” of radiation therapy, promoting it as a potentially safer and more effective therapy than currently available options.
The CPPIB is an investment management organization that invests the funds of the Canada Pension Plan on behalf of its 20 million Canadian contributors and beneficiaries. The organization holds investments in private equity, public equity holdings, and real estate in 52 countries. Last year, the CPPIB committed capital to Northleaf’s $300 million fund-of-funds.
“The additional capital provides opportunities for Fusion Pharmaceuticals to accelerate our growth plans and our pipeline of novel and combination therapy assets that can deliver effective and personalized radiation therapies to cancer patients,” said Fusion Pharmaceuticals CEO John Valliant.
Image source Fusion Pharmaceuticals.