Philogen Secures €62 Million Funding to Advance Targeted Cancer Therapies That Spare Healthy Tissues

VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) learned from foreign media that on May 13 local time, the Italian biopharmaceutical company Philogen completed a €62 million financing round. The proceeds from this round will be used to advance the company’s clinical drug development, aiming to improve cancer treatment outcomes while minimizing the impact of drugs on healthy human tissues.

It is reported that this round of financing was jointly invested by Novartis, Fondo Strategico Italiano, and PAI Partners. In addition, Philogen has expanded its Board of Directors, with Dr. Guido Guidi, former Head of Europe at Novartis; Dr. Roberto Marsella, former Head of Investments at Fondo Strategico Italiano; and Dr. Roberto Ferraresi, Partner at PAI Partners, joining the Philogen Board of Directors.

Philogen, established in 1996 and headquartered in Tuscany, Italy, is a biopharmaceutical company. The company is dedicated to researching targeted compounds that combine with cancer therapeutics to precisely treat diseased cells.

Tumor cells exhibit the following characteristics: extensive self-replication, evasion of immune cell control, and periodic progression. Due to these issues, cancer patients require periodic administration of therapeutic drugs to control the number of cancer cells in the body and maintain health.

Currently, most therapeutic drugs fail to target diseased tissues after entering the human body. Instead, they distribute systemically. Drugs that reach cancer cells are absorbed, interact with the cells, and are metabolized; however, drugs that accumulate in healthy cells are not effectively cleared, leading to long-term drug buildup. This accumulation impairs the function of normal cells, hindering their ability to produce essential substances or absorb nutrients, ultimately compromising overall health.

The company’s current drug research offers solutions to address these issues. The company first provides patients with professional diagnostics; after precisely identifying the affected anatomical sites, it develops specific drugs and targeted compounds tailored to the biological characteristics of those sites. These targeted compounds selectively bind to cells in the diseased tissue while exhibiting repulsion toward normal cells, thereby ensuring drug delivery to the affected areas and minimizing bodily harm caused by drug accumulation.

Dr. Duccio Neri, CEO of Philogen, said, “We are grateful for the support from new investors in this round. This funding will help us execute our corporate development strategy and develop innovative biopharmaceuticals to treat diseases that are still in the research stage.”

Novartis, established in 1996 and headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, is a publicly listed healthcare company. The company focuses on investing in patented pharmaceuticals, general health care, eye care, and animal health.

Fondo Strategico Italiano, established in 2011 and headquartered in Milan, Italy, is a private equity firm that primarily invests in the late-stage development of companies in sectors such as medtech and infrastructure.

PAI Partners was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Paris, France. It is a private equity firm that has completed six investments to date.

(Compiled by Liu Yujing)