Pharmaceutical firm Novartis led a $30m series B round for Israel-based oncology therapy developer Ayala Pharmaceuticals on Tuesday that included insurance group Harel Insurance and Finance.
The round also featured financial services firm SBI, which invested through biotechnology-focused vehicle SBI JI Innovation Fund, as well as life sciences investment funds Israel Biotech Fund and aMoon.
Founded in 2017, Ayala is developing drugs that are intended to treat patients suffering from genetically defined cancers. The therapies are based on two gamma secretase inhibitors it licensed from pharmaceutical firm Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS).
The drug candidates, dubbed AL101 and AL202, are being created to combat faulty cell signalling in patients that can drive some forms of cancer. The company intends to use the funding to complete a phase 2 clinical trial for AL101 in a form of oral cancer known as adenoid cystic carcinoma.
Capital will also support the start of a phase 2 study into using AL101 as a therapy for patients living with triple negative breast cancer. Ayala is collaborating with Novartis in developing the candidates for multiple myeloma.
Ayala had previously landed $17m in an April 2018 series A round led by Israel Biotech Fund that included Harel Insurance and Finance in addition to aMoon.