Spirea, a startup developing antibody drug conjugates in cancer, nabs $3 million

With its approach to building ADC therapeutics, the Cambridge startup aims to improve the treatment options for patients with hard-to-treat cancers
Spirea, a startup developing antibody drug conjugates in cancer, nabs $3 million

Cambridge-based biotech company Spirea has raised $3 million to advance a new generation of antibody drug conjugate (ADC) therapeutics. The round was co-led by Jonathan Milner and Cambridge Enterprise, with backing from R42 Group, ACF Investors, o2h Ventures, Syndicate Room and Cambridge Angels.

Going forward, the funding will enable the company to initiate its pipeline of superior and differentiated ADCs in the treatment of solid tumours where there is a high unmet need.

Spirea has developed a new approach to building ADCs that allows more drug payloads to be specifically directed to the target tumour cell. This results in an increase in therapeutic effect whilst substantially reducing debilitating side effects.

According to the company, its technology can unlock accessible and well-tolerated medicines for the treatment of a wide range of cancers by delivering the right amount of the right drug to the right cells.

Myriam Ouberai, CEO at Spirea, said: “With our novel approach to building ADC therapeutics, we aim to radically improve the treatment options for patients with hard-to-treat cancers. The new funding will drive the development of Spirea’s ADC pipeline. We will also build significant strategic partnerships.”

Christine Martin, head of seed funds at Cambridge Enterprise, said: “Spirea’s innovative antibody-drug conjugate technology is highly differentiated, and we believe it holds great value and potential to lead developments in the field of cancer therapeutics.”

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