World Cancer Day: private capital innovations to tackle the disease

Ten million people die of cancer every year. By 2030, experts predict that the number of cancer deaths will rise to 13 million. To mark World Cancer Day on Sunday 4 February 2024, we wanted to highlight the innovation - in diagnostics, treatment, and access - of venture capital and private equity backed companies across Europe. Their work is, and will continue to be, vital in helping patients potentially affected by cancers that can be prevented or cured if detected early and treated correctly.

The next generation of cancer drugs: Mablink Bioscience, a success story funded by Sofinnova Partners

• Mablink Bioscience is well on its way toward achieving its goal: to bring new and better treatment options to cancer patients with unmet needs.

• Sofinnova Partners, a venture capital firm and Member of Invest Europe, invested in Mablink Bioscience, a biotechnology company developing the next generation of an emerging class of cancer drugs called antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). Mablink’s patented hydrophilic drug-linker technology, PSARLink™, enables the design of homogeneous, plasma-stable, next generation ADCs with high DAR (drug-to-antibody ratio) while maintaining excellent pharmacological properties and tolerability.

• Mablink announced on October 18, 2023, that it was entering an agreement to be acquired by Eli Lilly. The transaction was completed on December 1, 2023 by Eli Lilly.

• "We are grateful to Sofinnova Partners, Mérieux, and all of our earliest supporters, who believed in our approach. Our team and our technology received a huge endorsement when Eli Lilly made their offer, and our combined expertise should lead to faster delivery of transformative cancer therapies to patients in need."- Jean-Guillaume Lafay, CEO, Mablink

• "As an investor, it is rare to find out so quickly that you made a great choice. Jean-Guillaume and his team built a fantastic company around breakthrough technology, executing perfectly all along the way. Congratulations to them- and to Eli Lilly."- Graziano Seghezzi, Managing Partner, Sofinnova Partners

Investing in the future of cancer care - Hadean Ventures

• Hadean Ventures is a European life science VC fund manager investing across all healthcare sectors and stages in products with the potential to address unmet medical needs, including the innovative cancer-related companies listed below:

• SAGA Diagnostics has a leading technology in the minimal molecular disease (MRD) cancer monitoring space. MRD is a rapidly developing field providing patients an option of simple blood tests that can detect cancer months or even years earlier than standard follow-up scans. SAGA is a clinical-stage company generating compelling clinical trial data proving its technology differentiation and unique sensitivity from other approaches in the field.

• Emergence Therapeutics is a European biopharmaceutical company developing novel antibody drug conjugate (ADC) immuno-therapeutics to treat high need cancers. The lead program features innovative antibody design as well as state of the art linker and payload technology to target Nectin-4 – an important and validated target for a broad range of cancers. Emergence has been acquired by Eli Lilly & Company.

• Oncoinvent is a clinical stage company based in Norway innovating in the space of radiopharmaceuticals. Its lead product Radspherin is a novel alpha-emitting radioactive therapy designed for treatment of metastatic cancers in body cavities. The company is in Ph2a for ovarian and colorectal cancers with data demonstrating clear efficacy.

• Step Pharma is a clinical stage French oncology company developing novel small molecule therapeutics. Based on groundbreaking science, its first-in-class drug has the potential to change the treatment paradigm for blood and many solid tumours. The candidate is currently in clinical trial and already having impact on patients’ lives.

Other examples of PE/VC investments in cancer-related companies include:

• Acerta Pharma is creating a range of highly selective therapies for cancer and its pioneering treatment has been shown to improve the quality of life for adult patients as a viable alternative to aggressive chemotherapy;

• Algeta: HealthCap assisted Algeta in ensuring its product, Xofigo, reached full potential by redirecting its clinical focus from pain palliation to full cancer therapy;

• Argenx‘s leading treatment helping patients with myasthenia gravis, a rare neuromuscular disease, also resulted in the development of candidates that can stimulate the body’s immune response to combat cancer;

• BioNTech is a leader in personalised immunotherapies using mRNA technology to treat cancer and novel diseases;

• Immatics harnessed the power of the T-cells at the centre of the body’s immune response to tackle cancerous tumours.

These are examples of the essential work venture capital and private equity is doing across the healthcare sector, from helping patients with diabetes, to tackling escalating expenses and ensuring widespread access to care.