Ottimo raises $140 million in pursuit of ‘$100 billion market’ for new cancer drugs

LONDON: Ottimo Pharma, which is in the process of developing a new cancer drug, has achieved one of the largest early-stage biotech fundraisings of 2024, as reported by the Financial Times. The company, based in London and Boston, has successfully raised $140 million in its Series A round, led by David Epstein, the former CEO of Seagen, which was sold to Pfizer for $43 billion last year.

Ottimo is focused on creating an antibody treatment that Epstein believes could supplant the current market leaders in cancer therapy by being more effective and causing fewer side effects. He estimates that this new class of cancer drugs could reach a peak market value of up to $100 million annually.

Epstein expressed confidence that the market for this innovative drug could easily be twice the size of that for anti-PD-1 therapies, like Merck’s Keytruda, which enable the immune system to detect and combat cancer more effectively. The start-up is working on Jankistomig, a treatment that merges an anti-PD-1 with an anti-VEGF, a protein that inhibits tumour growth. Epstein envisions it becoming the “new backbone immunotherapy” applicable across various cancer types, ultimately replacing existing therapies.

“It’s pretty clear that if you can achieve a significant increase in survival rates, the older drugs will gradually be used less frequently,” he told the Financial Times. “The current market for anti-PD-1 treatments is around $50 billion. If patients remain on the drug for double the duration, particularly for challenging tumour types like triple-negative breast cancer, I believe it could eventually be considered a $100 billion market.”

The next step for Ottimo’s drug is a large early-stage clinical trial to identify optimal dosages and effective combinations with other therapies. Following this, late-stage trials will be necessary to demonstrate its effectiveness and secure regulatory approval.

The drug was discovered by Jonny Finlay, a protein engineer and experienced biotech entrepreneur from Scotland, who co-founded Ottimo with European venture capital firm Medicxi. Epstein recognized the potential of this new class of therapies after biotechs Summit Therapeutics and Akeso reported promising trial results in September, showing that their drug ivonescimab reduced the risk of disease progression or death in lung cancer patients by 49% compared to those treated with Keytruda.

Additionally, Germany’s BioNTech has shown interest in this emerging treatment by signing a $950 million deal to acquire the Chinese company Biotheus for its similar drug. Ottimo’s Series A round was led by U.S. healthcare investors Orbimed, Avoro Capital Advisors, Avoro Ventures, and Samsara BioCapital, with Epstein noting that the fundraising was heavily oversubscribed.