iOnctura secures EUR80 million Series B for Phase II trials

GENEVA and AMSTERDAM, June 20, 2024 – iOnctura, a biopharmaceutical firm focusing on challenging and overlooked cancers, has successfully secured EUR 80 million in a Series B funding round. This round was spearheaded by new investor Syncona Limited, with additional investments from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund and previous investors like M Ventures, Inkef Capital, VI Partners, Schroders Capital, and 3B Future Health Fund.

iOnctura is advancing a pipeline of precision oral small molecules designed to treat cancer in novel and effective ways. The company’s therapeutic candidates aim to extend patients' lives and improve their health, significantly changing their prognosis and quality of life. Their primary candidate, roginolisib, is in mid-stage clinical development.

Roginolisib stands out as the first allosteric modulator of PI3Kδ, featuring a unique chemical structure and binding mode. It targets cancer cells and tumor-infiltrating immune cells with high PI3Kδ expression, which are often resistant to immune-mediated treatments. Roginolisib holds promise as the first effective therapy targeting the PI3Kδ pathway in cancer, having shown a unique clinical profile in both solid and hematological malignancies. To date, over 48 patients have received this treatment.

The newly secured funds will primarily accelerate the development of roginolisib for uveal melanoma (UM), a rare eye cancer with limited treatment options. The market for eye melanoma is expected to grow significantly, potentially reaching USD 9.56 billion by 2032. In a Phase Ib clinical trial, roginolisib demonstrated long-term safety and promising efficacy in treating UM, with sustained clinical activity over several months. Detailed results from these trials will be released soon.

iOnctura's successful data in UM, coupled with a robust preclinical dataset, supports the expansion of roginolisib into other cancer types. The company plans to initiate trials for non-small cell lung cancer and primary myelofibrosis later in 2024.

Another key asset of iOnctura is cambritaxestat, the only autotaxin inhibitor under clinical development for cancer treatment. This compound shows high potency and specificity and is being evaluated for fibrotic tumors that overexpress autotaxin. An ongoing Phase Ib study is testing cambritaxestat in combination with chemotherapy for metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Catherine Pickering, iOnctura's CEO, expressed optimism about the recent financing and the company’s approach to developing precision cancer therapies. She emphasized that these treatments could significantly extend the healthspan of patients with neglected cancers like uveal melanoma. Pickering also welcomed new investors, Syncona and the EIC Fund, noting that their expertise would be crucial as iOnctura advances its pipeline and growth.

Roel Bulthuis, Managing Partner at Syncona and a board member of iOnctura, highlighted the investment as a strategic opportunity, supporting the company's promising lead program towards late-stage development. He pointed out that iOnctura's precise targeting of the PI3Kδ pathway through allosteric modulation could be groundbreaking, potentially leading to clinically meaningful treatments for a range of cancers.

iOnctura operates from Amsterdam, Netherlands, with a subsidiary in Geneva, Switzerland. Supported by institutional investors such as Syncona, EIC Fund, and others, the company is dedicated to developing innovative treatments for neglected and hard-to-treat cancers.