A new chief executive officer and a fresh infusion of $50 million in Series C funding has given Bay Area ORIC Pharmaceuticals a shot in the arm as it continues to push development of its lead asset for treatment-resistant cancers.
A new chief executive officer and a fresh infusion of $50 million in Series C funding has given Bay Area ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc. a shot in the arm as it continues to push development of its lead asset for treatment-resistant cancers.
Based in South San Francisco ORIC Pharmaceuticals, a privately held company, said the $50 million in financing provides the company with total equity capital of more than $119 million. That funding will become a key ingredient as ORIC looks to move its Phase I asset, ORIC-101 through the clinic. ORIC-01 is a potent small molecule inhibitor of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). Activation of GR allows tumor cells to circumvent current cancer therapies and suppresses the immune system’s ability to recognize tumor cells. It is currently in Phase I testing and ORIC said it intends to pursue clinical development of the investigational therapy in patients with treatment-resistant solid tumors. ORIC-101 will be tested in combination with other unnamed immuno-oncology treatments, as well as chemotherapy.
Newly-installed CEO Richard Heyman said treatment-resistant cancers represent a “large unmet medical need.” In announcing the new funding Heyman said the company is pleased to have the continued support of previous and new investors.
New investors in the Series C are Fidelity Management & Research Company, Trinities Capital, Taiho Ventures and NS Investment. Previous investors who continue to back the company are The Column Group, Topspin Fund, Orbited, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, EcoR1 Capital, Kravis Investment Partners and Foreside Capital.
Peter Svennilson, founder and managing director of The Column Group and chairman of ORIC’s board of directors, said the opportunity to combine ORIC-101 with immunotherapy or chemotherapy offers the “ability to address mechanisms of cancer resistance and have a positive impact for cancer patients.”
“Their support, combined with ORIC’s commitment to discovering and developing new therapeutics targeting cancer, allows the company to build on the strong foundation of our co-founders, advisors and internal team, and provides for long-term success,” Heyman said in a statement.
Heyman, a co-founder of the company, was tapped as CEO in December. He replaced former CEO Ashraf Hanna, the former chief financial officer at Genentech Foundation. Hanna served about a year as CEO of ORIC before abruptly departing the company. Heyman was previously co-founder and CEO of Aragon Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by Johnson & Johnson. Earlier this month J&J won approval for Erleada (Apalutamide) for patients with non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Erleada was initially developed by Aragon.
In October ORIC dosed the first patient with ORIC-101 in a Phase Ia trial to test its safety, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in healthy volunteers. At the time of the dosing, ORIC said it will continue to assess the activity of ORIC-101 across a wide range of cancer models. The results of those studies and of the current Phase 1a will inform future development of ORIC-101, ORIC announced in October.
