Ottimo raises $140m for its PD-1/VEGF cancer drug
Ottimo Pharma chief executive David Epstein
Anglo-US biotech Ottimo Pharma has completed a big early-stage biotech financing, raising $140 million for its PD-1 and VEGF targeting drug jankistomig for cancer.
The London and Boston-based start-up is among a wave of companies trying to bring PD-1/VEGF-directed therapies through development that could provide a step-up in efficacy compared to the current generation of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor drugs like MSD's Keytruda (pembrolizumab).
It is led by David Epstein, who was chief executive of antibody-drug conjugate pioneer Seagen before its $43 billion takeover by Pfizer last year and also formerly head of oncology at Novartis.
According to Ottimo, jankistomig is a "first-in-class […] bifunctional antibody" directed at PD-1 and VEGFR2, a receptor for VEGF, and is "differentiated from bispecific antibodies" against the two targets.
Candidates from the likes of Summit Therapeutics/Akeso and Biotheus, which recently agreed to be acquired by BioNTech, have been generating a lot of attention in the last few months. Summit and Akeso's ivonescimab attracted headlines earlier this year when it was shown to be more effective than anti-PD-1 antibody Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in a Chinese PD-L1-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) population.
That led some market observers to predict the drug could supplant Keytruda and other PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitors that have become standard-of-care treatments for a wide range of solid tumours.
Faced with the prospect of competition to $25 billion-a-year Keytruda and eager not to be left behind, MSD recently licensed a drug in the class from China's LaNova Medicines in a deal that could be worth up to $2.7 billion, including a sizeable upfront payment of $588 million.
Against that backdrop, it's not surprising that Ottimo was able to muster good investor support for its oversubscribed Series A, which was led by Orbimed, Avoro Capital Advisors, Avoro Ventures, and Samsara BioCapital, and that there is already speculation that it could quickly sign a licensing deal for jankistomig.
The drug is designed to block the PD1 and VEGF pathways while minimising VEGF-related adverse effects, "specifically due to its intentionally designed interaction with VEGFR2," according to Ottimo.
Intravenous and subcutaneous formulations of the bifunctional antibody are in preclinical development, with the new funding expected to accelerate the move into clinical trials – now slated to start in late 2025 – whilst also allowing Ottimo to advance follow-up bifunctional candidates.
"Jankistomig represents a significant breakthrough with its novel design and mechanism of action, and we are incredibly grateful to have the backing of such well-renowned healthcare investors," said Epstein, who estimates that the drug could address a market of "well over $50 billion" a year.
