US-based oncology drug developer Rakuten Aspyrian has completed a $284m series C round featuring e-commerce firm Rakuten and financial services provider SBI Group.
The close of the round came through the provision of $134m of funding that was added to a $150m first tranche secured in August this year. The first close was led by Rakuten chief executive Hiroshi Mikitani, who is also Rakuten Aspyrian’s chairman.
Founded in 2015, Rakuten Aspyrian is working on cancer treatments based on its Photoimmunotherapy platform, which adds the molecular targeting of cancer cells to the laser-activation of a biophysical mechanism that causes them to die.
The company expects to generate top line results from a phase 1/2 trial for its lead drug candidate, ASP-1929, which targets a cancer antigen expressed in solid tumours that cause cancers in areas of the body including the head and neck, oesophagus, lung, colon and pancreas.
Takashi Toraishi, Rakuten Aspyrian’s president and COO, said: “With this financing, we have expanded our team and footprint.
“We have established our corporate headquarters in San Mateo, California, where we will execute on our goal of building a full-fledged pharmaceutical company, and will continue advancing a number of our photoimmunotherapy programs in various cancer types.
“In addition, proceeds from this financing will support continued development of our lead program, ASP-1929, which we recently announced has entered into a global, pivotal phase 3 clinical trial for head and neck cancer.”
The round boosted the company’s funding to $372m altogether. Hiroshi Mikitani supplied much of its earlier funding, which includes a $55.2m series B round closed in October 2016 and a $15.1m series B-1 round that followed in July 2017.
