ATX-210201

Accent Therapeutics welcomed Bristol Myers Squibb and Johnson & Johnson to its investor list Tuesday when it closed a $75-million series C round. AbbVie is also backing the oncology company, which plans to use the funds to bring its two lead assets into the clinic.Accent is developing a DHX9 inhibitor and a KIF18A inhibitor to treat cancers with standard of care treatments that lack sufficient efficacy, CEO Shakti Narayan told FirstWord. DHX9 is an RNA helicase that is integral for cellular genomic stability, playing a key role in replication, transcription, and translation. In preclinical studies, Accent found that DHX9 inhibition slowed and even regressed tumour growth. Currently in IND-enabling studies, DHX9 is expected to be most effective in cancers with BRCA loss of function, such as breast and ovarian, as well as deficient mismatch repair and high microsatellite-instable cancers such as colorectal and endometrial, according to the company."We are looking beyond mutation-specific vulnerabilities to identify and exploit critical intracellular dependencies that span multiple types of cancer," Narayan said. The company’s second compound blocks KIF18A, a mitotic kinesin motor protein critical for cell division in tumours with chromosomal instability, including ovarian cancer and triple-negative breast cancer. Accent plans to start IND-enabling studies of the programme this half."Accent’s KIF18A programme has focused on identifying and characterising KIF18A chemical matter with improved properties, and defining patient populations that will be beneficial to enable success in the clinic,” Narayan said. At least one other company is developing a similar compound. Volastra Therapeutics has a pair of KIF18A inhibitors in Phase I testing; one was internally developed, and one was in-licensed from Amgen. Accent's series C was led by Mirae Asset Capital Life Science. Additional new investors include Bristol Myers Squibb and Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc.; also participating in the round were existing investors The Column Group, Atlas Venture, Droia Ventures, GV, EcoR1 Capital, AbbVie Ventures, The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research, Timefolio Capital and others.