On January 7, 2021 Scorpion Therapeutics, Inc., a next-generation precision oncology company, reported the closing of an oversubscribed Series B financing, which raised $162 million (Press release, Scorpion Therapeutics, JAN 7, 2021, View Source [SID1234573602]). The financing was led by Boxer Capital of Tavistock Group, EcoR1 Capital, LLC, Omega Funds and Vida Ventures, with participation from new investors Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), Invus, Wellington Management Company, Nextech Invest, OrbiMed, Casdin Capital, LLC, Woodline Partners LP, Logos Capital, Janus Henderson Investors and other undisclosed institutional investors, as well as existing investors Atlas Venture and Abingworth. With this financing, Scorpion has raised approximately $270 million since the company was founded in the first quarter of 2020.
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"We are grateful to our new and existing investors for their commitment to our bold vision of advancing precision medicine as an option for many more people diagnosed with cancer," said Gary D. Glick, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Scorpion Therapeutics. "This financing will enable us to increase our investment in our platform technologies and programs, as we execute with equal parts urgency and rigor to transform the standard-of-care in cancer. We aim to advance new therapies that provide deeper and more durable responses, are less toxic to healthy tissues and have the potential to overcome key mechanisms of resistance. We look forward to naming our first development candidate in 2021, initiating clinical trials in 2022 and, ultimately, to delivering a pipeline of next-generation targeted cancer therapies to patients who need them."
Proceeds from the financing will be used to support the continued development of Scorpion’s drug hunting engine, which integrates state-of-the-art capabilities across multiple fields of translational medicine, chemical biology, medicinal chemistry, and data science, as well as the advancement of Scorpion’s growing portfolio, which includes several therapeutic candidates across a range of biological approaches for tumor targeting. Scorpion Therapeutics is building its pipeline in three distinct tracks: the first is focused on designing best- or first-in-class therapeutic candidates against known, high-impact oncogenes that leverage optimal therapeutic design to more exquisitely target tumor tissue across all metastatic sites; the second track moves beyond oncogenes and is aimed at developing therapeutic candidates against a set of non-enzymatic targets that have historically been classified as "undruggable;" and the third is focused on a new wave of protein targets, discovered by Scorpion Therapeutics, which have the potential to transform cancer treatment paradigms for large patient populations.
"In less than a year since its founding, Scorpion Therapeutics has grown with remarkable speed and efficiency, articulating a clear strategy for transforming standards of care in oncology, attracting an experienced and accomplished team of scientists and biotech executives and building a robust research-stage portfolio," said Otello Stampacchia, Founder and Managing Director, Omega Funds.
"Scorpion’s novel therapeutic approach represents an important advance with the potential to shift the treatment paradigm for some of the most elusive cancers and make a meaningful impact for patients. With this financing, the company is well-positioned to accelerate its platform technologies and programs into the next stage of development," said Arjun Goyal, M.D., MPhil, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Vida Ventures.
"We believe Scorpion Therapeutics’ multidimensional platform and thoughtful, data-driven approach to clinical development will enable the company to move rapidly and efficiently to deliver Precision Oncology 2.0 and we are proud to support the team in their efforts," added Oleg Nodelman, Founder and Portfolio Manager of EcoR1 Capital LLC.
"Scorpion is at a pivotal stage of its development, as it prepares to name its first development candidate and advance into clinical trials. We look forward to partnering with the management team to build out a robust pipeline, with the goal of addressing current limitations of precision oncology and transforming cancer care for patients," commented Aaron Davis, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Boxer Capital.
Presentation at the 39th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference
Gary Glick, Ph.D., Scorpion’s President and Chief Executive Officer, will provide an overview of the company at the 39th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference on Wednesday, January 13 at 10:25 a.m. ET.
The live webcast can be accessed under "News" on the Scorpion website at www.scorpiontx.com. Please connect to the company’s website at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the presentation to ensure adequate time for any software download that may be required to listen to the webcast. The replay will be available for 30 days following the presentation.