Dec. 14 Quick Takes: Alpha-9 lands $75M for radiopharmaceutical pipeline

Radiopharmaceuticals play Alpha-9 Theranostics Inc. is expecting to progress up to five candidates into the clinic after raising $75 million in a series B round led by Nextech Invest. The Vancouver-based biotech’s lead program is a PSMA-targeted radiopharmaceutical that is in preclinical testing for prostate cancer. New investors Frazier Life Sciences, Samsara BioCapital and Quark Venture also participated alongside existing investors BVF Partners and Longitude Capital.

Avidity Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) gained early proof of concept for its antibody-oligonucleotide conjugate platform through Phase I/II data that suggest it’s possible to achieve targeted oligonucleotide delivery to the muscle, addressing a long-standing efficacy barrier for antisense and siRNA therapies that naturally target the liver. Shares of Avidity rose 55% to $17.05 Wednesday, giving the company a market cap of $929 million. In the Phase I/II MARINA study of AOC 101, a mAb that binds TFRC conjugated with an siRNA targeting DMPK mRNA, a single 1 mg/kg dose and two doses of 2 mg/kg each reduced mean DMPK expression by 45%. Disease-related mutations in DMPK cause toxic gain of function and myotonic dystrophy type 1 pathology. The study also pointed to early signs of clinical activity with improvements in myotonia, which were not quantified.  ...