Aprea, a Sweden-based cancer therapy developer backed by healthcare provider Praktikertjänst Group, closed a €46m ($50m) series B round yesterday.
The round was co-led by venture capital firms Versant Ventures and 5AM Ventures, with participation from investment manager Sectoral Asset Management and venture capital firm HealthCap.
Founded in 2000, Aprea is working on therapeutics to treat cancer by targeting the tumour suppressor protein p53.
The financing will partly be used to advance its lead drug candidate, APR-246, which is set to complete the phase 1b part of a phase 1b/2 clinical study for high-grade serious ovarian cancer.
Aprea also intends to use cash from the round to expand its presence in the US where it plans to conduct much of its clinical and business development activities.
Bernd R. Seizinger, executive chairman of Aprea, said: “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% of human tumours carry deficient p53, which is often associated with resistance to anti-cancer 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.”
Aprea has not disclosed details of earlier financing but said its investors also include Praktikertjänst subsidiary Praktikerinvest, as well as Östersjöstiftelsen, KCIF Co-Investment Fund and its main investor, KDev Investments, which is owned by Karolinska Development and Rosetta Capital.