Syncona adds iOnctura and Yellowstone to cancer biotech portfolio

Syncona has recently bolstered its investment portfolio by incorporating two promising cancer-focused biotech companies, equipping them with a combined funding of over $100 million through series A and B financing rounds.

The London-based investment firm spearheaded an 80 million euro ($85.7 million) series B funding round for iOnctura, a Netherlands-based biotechnology company. The round saw participation from several significant investors such as the EIC Fund, M Ventures, Inkef Capital, VI Partners, Schroders Capital, and the 3B Future Health Fund. Syncona itself contributed 30 million euros ($32.1 million) to iOnctura, securing a 23% ownership stake in the company.

iOnctura is focused on developing innovative therapies for cancer, with its leading candidate being roginolisib. This drug is notable for being the first allosteric modulator of PI3Kδ. iOnctura's research indicates that roginolisib has demonstrated long-term safety and promising efficacy in a phase 1b trial targeting uveal melanoma (UM), a rare eye cancer, according to a June 20 press release.

With the recently acquired funds, iOnctura plans to advance roginolisib further into clinical trials, expanding its application to other cancer types such as non-small cell lung cancer and primary myelofibrosis. "To date, no company has been able to successfully target this well-known cancer pathway with sufficient precision," stated Roel Bulthuis, Syncona's managing partner and head of investments, who is also a board member of iOnctura. "By allosterically modulating PI3Kδ, iOnctura has achieved a new level of precision and could be the first company to develop a clinically meaningful medicine targeting this pathway."

Additionally, iOnctura has another promising clinical-stage drug, cambritaxestat, an autotaxin inhibitor. This drug is undergoing a phase 1b study for treating metastatic pancreatic cancer in combination with chemotherapy.

In addition to iOnctura, Syncona has invested in another cancer-focused biotech firm, Yellowstone. This U.K.-based company, which spun out from the University of Oxford, is working on targeting human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II expression in various common cancers. Syncona has provided Yellowstone with £16.5 million ($20.9 million) in series A funding to help develop its pipeline of therapies.

Yellowstone is built on the research of Paresh Vyas, Ph.D., a professor of hematology at the University of Oxford, who has amassed a biobank of samples from over 3,000 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The company's primary focus is on developing soluble bispecific TCR-based therapeutics that target HLA class II presented peptides on cancer cell surfaces. While the initial focus is on AML, Yellowstone's broader aims include ovarian cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, renal cancer, and melanoma.

By supporting these two innovative biotech firms, Syncona is not only expanding its investment portfolio but also contributing to the development of potentially groundbreaking therapies for various challenging cancers.