CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- PanTher Therapeutics (PanTher), a privately held oncology company revolutionizing the treatment of solid tumors through direct, localized, and sustained delivery of proven and novel therapeutic agents, announces today that it has closed an oversubscribed $5.4M Series A round led by Catalyst Health Ventures (CHV), with participation by Angel Physicians Fund (APF) and other notable investors. The Series A round brings the total amount raised by the company to $7.4M.

Proceeds from the funding will go toward the company’s first-in-human clinical trial. The company also announced today the additions of Darshana Zaveri, Managing Partner at CHV, Manish Bhandari, Managing Partner at APF, and Maria Palasis, President and CEO of Lyra Therapeutics, to its board of directors.

PanTher’s novel approach empowers oncologists to treat patients with life-threatening cancers by unlocking a drug’s full potential through direct, sustained treatment at the tumor site. The company’s proprietary platform is based on technology that was developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and was subsequently in-licensed by PanTher.

PanTher’s lead candidate is designed to control tumor progression in pancreatic cancer and improve survival rates, and it is easily integrated into a commonly used, minimally invasive staging procedure. PanTher’s platform technology can be adapted to treat additional solid tumor indications.

“The close of this Series A further establishes PanTher’s growth to a clinical-stage company, and our new board members reinforce our depth of knowledge and experience as we continue to build a collaborative and results-oriented culture,” said Laura Indolfi, CEO and Co-Founder of PanTher Therapeutics. “It also allows us to continue investigating the potential of using our highly adaptable platform to treat other indications and exploring optimal localized cancer therapies for each of those indications.”

“PanTher represents a truly new therapeutic modality that has the potential to change the way we deliver lifesaving drugs to tumors,” noted Zaveri. “There is a clear, identifiable, unmet need in the treatment paradigm for patients with solid tumors, including tumors associated with pancreatic cancer, which is one of the most lethal and hardest-to-treat cancers.”

“It is exciting to be part of a company whose technology is designed to produce better outcomes for cancer patients,” said Palasis. “I am looking forward to collaborating with such a talented team of experts to advance new ways to effectively target chemotherapeutic drug therapy and reduce the toxicity and debilitating side effects that chemotherapy agents can produce when administered through traditional systemic intravenous or oral routes.”

About PanTher Therapeutics

PanTher Therapeutics (PanTher) is a privately held oncology company revolutionizing cancer care with a proprietary treatment platform designed to enhance therapeutic response while minimizing side effects. PanTher is currently investigating the platform for the treatment of solid tumors, and the company is gearing up to initiate its first clinical trial for its lead indication, pancreatic cancer. The technology at the foundation of PanTher’s proprietary treatment was developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and was subsequently in-licensed by PanTher. The platform empowers oncologists to treat patients with life-threatening cancer by unlocking a drug’s full potential through direct, sustained treatment at the tumor site. This unique targeting capability positions PanTher to take on the deadliest and most acute cancers. For more information, visit www.panthertx.com.

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