Munich-based antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) specialist Tubulis has completed a sizeable Series B2 financing that shows sustained investor appetite for the ADC category, particularly for companies with technologies that can enhance the safety of these drugs.

总部位于慕尼黑的抗体-药物偶联物（ADC）专家Tubulis已经完成了规模可观的B2系列融资，显示出投资者对ADC类别的持续兴趣，特别是对于拥有可以提高这些药物安全性的技术的公司。

Tubulis has raised €128 million ($138 million) in the round, which will be used to move its lead solid tumour candidates TUB-030 and TUB-040 into clinical testing and expand the company with the creation of a US subsidiary. It follows a €60 million Series B in 2022 and a first round in 2020 that raised just under €11 million..

Tubulis在这轮融资中筹集了1.28亿欧元（1.38亿美元），将用于将其领先的实体瘤候选人TUB-030和TUB-040转移到临床测试中，并通过创建一家美国子公司来扩大公司规模。此前，2022年B轮融资6000万欧元，2020年第一轮融资不到1100万欧元。。

The company says its suite of technologies can help make ADCs more stable, reducing the toxicity that can occur if, for example, the payload drug is released from the molecule before it reaches the site of a tumour. At the heart of the platform is its Tubutecan topoisomerase I inhibitor payload, which can be joined to targeting antibodies using a novel P5 conjugation chemistry linker..

该公司表示，它的一套技术可以帮助使ADC更稳定，减少可能发生的毒性，例如，如果有效载荷药物在到达肿瘤部位之前从分子中释放出来。该平台的核心是其Tubutecan拓扑异构酶I抑制剂有效载荷，可以使用新型P5偶联化学接头将其与靶向抗体连接。。

The promise of its approach attracted a $1 billion-plus partnership with Bristol-Myers Squibb a year ago.

一年前，该方法的承诺吸引了与百时美施贵宝（Bristol-Myers Squibb）超过10亿美元的合作伙伴关系。

TUB-040 targets Napi2b, a tumour antigen that is overexpressed in lung and ovarian cancers, while TUB-030 targets 5T4, an antigen that Tubulis says is found in a wide range of solid tumours. The company is due to present preclinical data on the pair at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual congress in April..

TUB-040靶向Napi2b，一种在肺癌和卵巢癌中过表达的肿瘤抗原，而TUB-030靶向5T4，Tubulis说这种抗原存在于多种实体瘤中。该公司将于4月在美国癌症研究协会（AACR）年度大会上提交这对患者的临床前数据。。

Along with funding clinical trials to the proof-of-concept stage – phase 1/2 studies should be underway before the end of the year – the new money will also be used to find new payloads “for the development of versatile and customizable ADCs,” said Tubulis.

Tubulis说，除了为概念验证阶段的临床试验提供资金外，新资金还将用于寻找新的有效载荷，以“开发多功能和可定制的ADC”。

The round was co-led by EQT Life Sciences and Nextech Invest, with participation from new US-based funds Frazier Life Sciences and Deep Track Capital as well as all Tubulis’ existing investors. EQT Life Sciences’ managing director Christoph Broja and Kanishka Pothula, managing partner at Nextech Invest, have agreed to join Tubulis’ board..

这一轮由EQT生命科学和Nextech Invest共同领导，美国新基金Frazier Life Sciences和Deep Track Capital以及Tubulis的所有现有投资者参与。EQT生命科学公司的常务董事克里斯托夫·布罗亚（ChristophBroja）和Nextech Invest的常务合伙人卡尼什卡·波图拉（Kanishka Pothula）已同意加入Tubulis的董事会。。

The impressive round comes as ADCs have started to overcome toxicity issues that plagued the first generation of approved therapies, driving a frenzy of dealmaking last year that included Pfizer’s $43 billion takeover of Seagen, MSD’s $22 billion licensing deal with Daiichi Sankyo, and AbbVie’s $10 billion acquisition of ImmunoGen..

令人印象深刻的一轮是在ADC开始克服困扰第一代批准疗法的毒性问题之际，去年引发了一场交易狂潮，其中包括辉瑞430亿美元收购Seagen，MSD与Daiichi Sankyo 220亿美元的许可协议，以及AbbVie 100亿美元收购ImmunoGen。。

“We are convinced that Tubulis will be at the forefront of this next wave of ADC therapeutics,” commented Pothula. “The team continuously pushes the boundaries of ADC design [and] is on the path towards providing new, high-quality treatment options for many hard-to-treat cancers.”

“我们相信小管将成为下一波ADC治疗的前沿，”Pothula评论道。“该团队不断突破ADC设计的界限，正在为许多难以治疗的癌症提供新的高质量治疗选择。”