Months after in-licensing first programme, Avenzo raises $150M

26 Mar 2024
firstwordpharma.com
Phase 1AcquisitionADCPROTACsLicense out/in
Another pair of former Turning Point team members has raised a megaround this year. Avenzo Therapeutics closed a $150-million series A-1 on Tuesday to build a cancer company via licensing deals and acquisitions.
The financing comes a month after Turning Point co-founders Jean Cui and Y. Peter Li nabbed a $100-million Series B for their small molecule oncology venture, BlossomHill.
The A-1 round, which brings Avenzo’s total fundraising to $347 million, was led by New Enterprise Associates, Deep Track Capital, Sofinnova Investments, and Sands Capital. Other new investors also participated in the financing, including INCE Capital, TF Capital, Delos Capital, and Quan Capital.
On the hunt for deals
Athena Countouriotis and Mohammad Hirmand, Turning Point’s former CEO and CMO, respectively, formed Avenzo in 2022 shortly after Bristol Myers Squibb acquired the biotech for $4 billion. Their mission was to build a best-in-class oncology pipeline through strategic partnerships.
“We’ve been focused on partnering with early-stage companies that may not necessarily have the clinical development capabilities or expertise that we have at Avenzo, to progress important potential new therapies through clinical development,” Countouriotis told FirstWord. She serves as president and CEO of Avenzo.
Avenzo gained its first candidate in January when it in-licensed AVZO-021 (formerly ARTS-021) from Allorion Therapeutics, along with an exclusive option for an undisclosed preclinical programme, for $40 million upfront. The latter is eligible for up to $1 billion in milestones.
AVZO-021, which is being studied in a Phase I trial for HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer and other advanced solid tumours, has the potential to be a best-in-class selective CDK2 inhibitor, according to Countouriotis.
CDK2 is a well-known target of interest for cancer given its role as a key resistance mechanism to approved CDK4/6 agents, but compounds targeting the kinase have struggled in the clinic, including programmes from Nuvation Bio and Blueprint Medicine, which both received partial holds from the FDA due to a safety signal. AVZO-021’s selectivity could give it an edge over other programmes in development, particularly on safety.
“There have been multiple assets that were designed as CDK2/4/6 inhibitors that we believe had too much off-target toxicity, hence why we believe a best-in-class CDK2 selective agent can have transformational potential in HR+/HER2- breast cancer,” Countouriotis said.
Tuesday’s financing will help Avenzo continue bulking out its pipeline with dealmaking. While Countouriotis declined to disclose any other targets of interest, she said the company is on the lookout for small molecule programmes and antibody-drug conjugates.
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