Avelos Therapeutics Secures KRW 17 Billion in Series B, Exceeds KRW 30 Billion Total

Avelos Therapeutics, a prominent biotech company based in Seoul, South Korea, has successfully concluded a Series B funding round, amassing KRW 17 billion (approximately $12.3 million USD) as of April 30. This round was spearheaded by Stassets Investment, with additional support from new investors such as LSK Investment, Medytox Venture Investment, Shinhan Capital, and Heungkuk Securities. Existing supporters—SV Investment, Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Quad Investment Management, and Timefolio Capital—also contributed. This recent infusion of capital brings Avelos' total funding to KRW 30 billion (around $21.7 million USD), including prior seed and Series A rounds.

Established on September 1, 2021, by industry veterans CEO Young Whan Park, CTO Soongyu Choi, and Business Development Head Kangsik Yun, Avelos is dedicated to developing synthetic small molecule drugs targeting synthetic lethality, DNA damage response, and cell cycle regulation. The company is currently working on four anti-cancer drug pipelines.

Among Avelos' groundbreaking projects is AD1208, a first-in-class MASTL kinase inhibitor. This preclinical candidate, part of the AVS1001 project, aims to impact mitosis in the cell cycle and influence DNA damage response. AD1208 is an oral drug that has shown promising results in selectively inhibiting cancer cells during laboratory and animal tests. It targets a range of cancers, including colon, stomach, breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers. Clinical trials for AD1208 are slated to commence in the latter half of the year, supported by the recent Series B investment.

In April, Avelos presented preclinical results for the AVS1001 project at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR 2024), signaling the beginning of full-scale development efforts. Beyond AVS1001, Avelos is advancing three other projects in its pipeline, focusing on significant targets in the DNA damage response domain. Notably, the AVS1002 project aims to identify a development candidate by year-end to treat patients with homologous recombination deficiency (HRD), a crucial area within synthetic lethality. By targeting HRD, this project holds potential for treating patients unresponsive to existing drugs, particularly PARP inhibitors. Candidate selection and preclinical toxicity studies are projected for 2025, facilitated by the Series B funding.

Avelos intends to collaborate with Korean research partners and promote global technology transfer by 2025. Additionally, the company plans to list on the KOSDAQ stock market after securing two more clinical-stage substances.

"The successful completion of our Series B funding, despite a challenging market for biotech investments, underscores the industry's confidence in our capabilities and growth potential," remarked CEO Young Whan Park. "This investment will enable us to develop globally competitive anti-cancer drugs and solidify our position as a leading biotech firm in synthetic lethality."

Soongyu Choi, recently promoted to co-CEO, highlighted the company's strategic direction towards global expansion and emphasized their commitment to innovative drug development. "Our scientists at Avelos are dedicated to designing and achieving the best outcomes, thus increasing the likelihood of success in novel drug development," Choi stated.

Avelos Therapeutics continues to pave the way in oncology drug discovery and development, focusing on small molecule drugs for challenging targets in synthetic lethality, DNA damage response, and cell cycle regulation. Founded in 2021, Avelos is led by experienced professionals in pre-clinical and clinical drug development.