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Spirea Limited, a University of Cambridge spin-out company created to advance a new generation of antibody drug conjugate (ADC) therapeutics, has secured funding of £2.4 million.
The investment was co-led by Cambridge Enterprise and Jonathan Milner, founder and former CEO of Abcam. Spirea will use the funds to initiate its pipeline of superior and differentiated ADCs in the treatment of solid tumours, where there is a high unmet need.
ADCs combine the cell-killing activity of cytotoxic drugs with the cancer-targeting capability of monoclonal antibodies. The ADC concept has been exemplified with approved products. Many ADC programmes have, however, failed to progress through clinical development because of dose-limiting toxicities, restricted efficacy, and limitations in the range of treatable cancers.
Spirea’s technology allows more cytotoxic drug to be attached to the targeting antibody. This higher drug-to-antibody ratio means more drug hits the cancer cell. Spirea’s approach allows the development of stable and tailored ADCs, incorporating a variety of drug payloads at varying levels of potency and different modes-of-action. By delivering the right amount of the right drug to the right cells, Spirea’s technology will unlock a new generation of accessible, powerful, and well-tolerated medicines for the treatment of a wide range of cancers.
Spirea was founded by Dr Myriam Ouberai, following her research at The Nanoscience Centre.