Sitka Biopharma Secures $1.9M Seed Funding from Quark Venture and GF Securities to Advance Novel Nanoparticle Therapy for Bladder Cancer

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that on October 25, 2018, local time, Sitka Biopharma (hereinafter referred to as “Sitka”), a biotechnology company headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, announced that it had secured $1.9 million in seed financing from Quark Venture Inc. and China Guangfa Securities Co., Ltd. (GF Securities).

Sitka is a preclinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing nanoparticle platform technologies to enhance drug absorption in tissues that are difficult to penetrate. Last July, Sitka’s spin-off, the Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD), entered into a collaboration agreement with the University of British Columbia (UBC) and Cancer Research Technology (CRT), the commercial arm of the UK’s Institute of Cancer Research, regarding the clinical development of STK-01. STK-01 is a nanoparticle platform designed for the treatment of bladder cancer.

Subsequently, Sitka secured a $2.4 million seed funding round invested by Quark in August 2017.

This funding round will help Sitka conduct key GLP toxicology studies and GMP manufacturing of clinical drug products. These two milestones will enable the company and its partners to complete the initial Phase I clinical trial of their lead product, STK-01.

 Image source: Sitka Biopharma official website

Bladder cancer is the fourth most common cancer in men, and it has the highest lifetime treatment cost per capita among all cancers. The challenge of treating bladder cancer with traditional therapies lies in the fact that chemotherapy drugs are not well absorbed due to the inherent characteristics of the bladder itself.

STK-01 employs a unique nano-polymer technology to deliver chemotherapy drugs, enhancing the chemotherapeutic delivery mechanism for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). It is indicated for patients whose tumors have not yet invaded the muscularis propria of the bladder wall. This therapy effectively improves drug absorption in tissues that are typically difficult to penetrate, thereby exposing the tumor to higher drug concentrations.

Michael Parr, President of Sitka, stated, “This financing is critical for Sitka, as it will enable us to complete the final studies on our novel bladder cancer treatment regimen and advance through initial clinical trials in collaboration with Cancer Research UK (CRUK). Additionally, these funds will support our planning efforts to expand the clinical development of STK-01 to other indications.”

Although STK-01 was initially developed for the treatment of bladder cancer, its subsequent indications may be expanded to include intraperitoneal delivery for ovarian cancer and other indications. Currently, the company is developing its lead candidate drug to enhance the efficacy of intravesical chemotherapy for bladder cancer and intraperitoneal administration for ovarian cancer.

Sitka, established in 2013 and headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, is a preclinical biotechnology company dedicated to developing breakthrough nanoparticle platforms. It is a spin-off from the Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD) and the University of British Columbia (UBC).

Quark, established in 2015 and headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, is a venture capital firm. Quark specializes in equity financing for innovative biotechnology companies with breakthrough technology platforms.