Rakuten Aspyrian Secures $284 Million in Series C Financing to Advance Tumor-Targeted Photoimmunotherapy

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that on December 20 (U.S. local time), biotechnology company Rakuten Aspyrian announced it had raised $134 million in its Series C+ financing round, with participation from Rakuten and new investor SBI Group.

On August 23 this year, Rakuten Aspyrian raised $150 million in its Series C financing round, which was funded by Rakuten. This brings the total amount raised by Rakuten Aspyrian in its Series C round to $284 million.

Since 2015, Rakuten Aspyrian has raised approximately $352 million in funding. In January 2015, the company secured $8.5 million in its seed round, followed by $4.3 million in its Series A round in July of the same year; the investors for these two rounds were not disclosed. In March 2016 and July 2017, Rakuten Aspyrian completed two separate Series B financing rounds, both led by Rakuten, with a total Series B funding amount of $55.1 million.

Rakuten Aspyrian is a privately held, clinical-stage biotechnology company founded in 2010. Headquartered in California, USA, it maintains offices in Japan and Germany.

Rakuten Aspyrian’s primary investigational product is ASP-1929. ASP-1929 is an antibody–drug conjugate of cetuximab and IRDye700DX®. ASP-1929 targets epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), which is expressed in various types of solid tumors, including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, esophageal cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, and other cancers.

Rakuten Aspyrian’s core technology is Photoimmunotherapy (PIT), also known as “photoimmunotherapy.” This novel tumor-targeted anticancer platform is distinctive in that it combines molecular targeting of tumor cells to achieve high tumor specificity with biophysical mechanisms of tumor cell destruction, thereby generating broad-spectrum anticancer activity regardless of the patient’s underlying tumorigenic mechanisms. Photoimmunotherapy was originally developed by the U.S. National Cancer Institute and is exclusively licensed to Rakuten Aspyrian.

Currently, Rakuten Aspyrian is investigating photoimmunotherapy as a monotherapy and in combination with other drugs.

The company’s long-term goal is to commercialize a range of therapies based on photoimmunotherapy, enabling the treatment of multiple types of solid tumors either as monotherapy or in combination with other immunomodulators, to elicit robust and durable anti-cancer immune responses.

“I have strong confidence in the vision and potential of Rakuten Aspyrian’s photoimmunotherapy platform, which is what drives me to further invest in the company,” said Mickey Mikitani, CEO of Rakuten Aspyrian. “Our entire company is committed to developing treatments for cancer patients and will continue to advance our corporate mission of defeating cancer.”

“We are pleased to support Rakuten Aspyrian and firmly believe in the potential of its photoimmunotherapy platform. The company is conducting clinical trials on a method developed by Dr. Hisataka Kobayashi of the Center for Cancer Research at the National Institutes of Health, which selectively destroys cancer cells while minimizing impact on normal cells,” said Mr. Yoshitaka Kitao, Representative Director, President, and Chief Executive Officer of SBI Holdings.

The Series C financing will further support the advancement of ASP-1929, Rakuten Aspyrian’s clinical-stage compound based on photoimmunotherapy (PIT). Currently, this therapy is in Phase 3 development for the treatment of patients with recurrent locoregional head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Phase 2 studies of ASP-1929 for other solid tumors are scheduled to commence in early 2019. Should regulatory approval be obtained in the United States, Japan, and Europe, the funding will also support the manufacturing and commercialization of ASP-1929. The company further announced that it has established its corporate headquarters in San Mateo, California, where it is expanding its clinical, commercial, and corporate functions.

“Through our Series C financing, we have expanded our team and market presence: we have established our corporate headquarters in San Mateo, California, where we will pursue our goal of ‘building an integrated biopharmaceutical company’; meanwhile, we will continue to advance the research and development of photoimmunotherapy targeting various cancer types,” said Dr. Takashi Toraishi, President and Chief Operating Officer of Rakuten Aspyrian. “Furthermore, the proceeds from this funding will support ongoing research into our lead product candidate, ASP-1929, which has recently entered a global Phase 3 clinical trial for head and neck cancer. We are deeply grateful to our generous investors for their trust and support in Rakuten Aspyrian, and we remain committed to fulfilling our mission.”

Rakuten is a technology company founded in 1997 and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Formerly known as MDM, the company was renamed Rakuten in June 1999.

Rakuten serves 1.2 billion members worldwide through its corporate branches in 30 countries and regions. The company has multiple operating divisions, such as Internet services and financial services.

Among these, the Internet Services Division primarily comprises enterprises operating various e-commerce platforms, such as online shopping malls and travel booking websites, as well as portal sites and e-book businesses. The Internet Finance Division mainly provides services related to banking and securities, credit cards, life insurance, and electronic money.

SBI Group is an internet financial services group headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

The company has more than 190 subsidiaries, with its three core business pillars being financial services, asset management, and biotechnology-related operations. In addition to its “financial services business,” which provides financial products along with related services and information through entities such as SBI Securities, SBI Sumishin Net Bank, and SBI Insurance, the SBI Group is also engaged in businesses spanning IT, biotechnology, environmental protection, and energy.