Mablink raises $31m in Series A financing

Lyon-based Mablink Bioscience SAsaid it will use the proceeds primarily to advance its lead candidate MBK-103 to the clinical testing state and to build a pipeline of ADCs using its platform technology. The round was led by Sofinnova Partners and Mérieux Equity Partners, while existing investors Elaia Partners, UI-Investissement / Pertinence Invest 2 (advised by Mérieux Equity Partners), Sham Innovation Santé (advised by Turenne Capital), Fondation Fournier-Majoie, Simba Santé (Angelor) and Crédit Agricole Création participated in the financing.

MBK-103 is an ADC designed with Mablink’s proprietary hydrophilic linker, and exatecan, a potent Topoisomerase-I inhibitor, as a toxic payload. The ADC targets Folate Receptor Alpha (FRa), a protein overexpressed in solid tumors including ovarian and triple-negative breast cancer.

Mablink’s linker structure masks the cytotoxic payload enabling its ADCs to stay longer in the body giving them more time to destroy tumour cells. According to the company, its ADCs have greatly improved tolerability. In preclinical tumour models Mablink’s ADCs showed a 10-fold increase of the therapeutic index.

The proceeds of this financing round will enable Mablink to become a clinical-stage biotech by bringing its lead candidate, MBK-103, into clinical development for the treatment of solid tumors, notably ovarian cancer. At the same time, Mablink will build a pipeline of ADCs for solid tumors.

"