On June 8, 2022 Ariceum Therapeutics (Ariceum), a private biotech company developing a radiopharmaceutical product for the diagnosis and systemic targeted radiation therapy of certain hard-to-treat cancers, reported the successful completion of an oversubscribed EUR 25 million Series A financing round (Press release, Ariceum Therapeutics, JUN 8, 2022, View Source;and-high-grade-neuroendocrine-cancers-301563216.html [SID1234615794]). Ariceum was co-founded by EQT Life Sciences (formerly LSP) and HealthCap who also co-led the financing that was joined by Pureos Bioventures. Ipsen transferred assets, and all corresponding rights into the Company in late 2021.
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The proceeds from the financing will enable Ariceum to further develop its lead asset and proprietary peptide derivative, satoreotide. Satoreotide is a radiopharmaceutical drug and an antagonist of the somatostatin type 2 (SST2) receptor which is overexpressed in many cancers, including certain hard-to-treat cancers such as small cell lung cancer (SCLC), high-grade neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) and neuroblastoma, an aggressive, rare type of cancer that occurs mainly in young children. Satoreotide will be used as a ‘theranostic’ for both the diagnosis and treatment of tumours expressing the SST2 receptor. Satoreotide is in early clinical development and, as of today, has been administered to more than 100 patients including more than 150 therapeutic administrations.
Ariceum is led by a highly experienced management team with a strong track record and expertise in clinical trials, systemic targeted radiation therapy and radiopharmaceutical development, as well as launching and commercialising diagnostic and therapeutic products in a variety of indications worldwide.
In conjunction with the financing, Karin Kleinhans of EQT Life Sciences, Per Samuelsson of HealthCap and Martin Münchbach of Pureos Bioventures will join Ariceum’s board of directors together with Eduardo Bravo, CEO of EBAC, who has been elected as chairman of the board.
Founded in 2021, Ariceum is headquartered in Berlin, with operations in Germany and activities currently across Europe, North America and Australia.
Manfred Rüdiger, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Ariceum Therapeutics, said: "We are very pleased to attract this outstanding syndicate of venture capital and corporate investors which validates our approach to developing our lead radiopharmaceutical product, satoreotide. I am excited to lead an exceptional team as we continue to build our platform and advance satoreotide for systemic targeted radiation therapy (STRT) to visualize and treat neuroendocrine tumors and certain other more aggressive cancers."
Karin Kleinhans, PhD, Partner at EQT Life Sciences, stated: "We founded Ariceum with the aim to build a European leader in targeted radiopharmaceuticals. We are delighted to support the Company in the development of its innovative technology to create more effective treatments for patients suffering from hard-to-treat cancers which are currently not adequately addressed by existing therapies, in addition to neuroendocrine cancers expressing the receptor."
Per Samuelsson, Partner at HealthCap, stated: "We are proud to have been involved with the Company since its early days and are very impressed with the progress achieved to date. We believe Ariceum’s innovative theranostic approach to diagnose and treat different types of cancers is world-leading and we look forward to supporting the Company through the next stages of growth."
Martin Münchbach, PhD, Managing Partner at Pureos Bioventures, added: "We are honoured to join this round with HealthCap and EQT Life Sciences and believe it will be a tremendous joint effort to bring Ariceum to the next level. Ariceum understands the power of radiopharmaceuticals which will enable the Company to develop better targeted drugs to eradicate cancer more effectively with less side-effects."