Oncoinvent closes US$25m private placement

Radspherin is a slowly degrading microsphere emitting radium-based alpha radiation designed to slowly melt down tumour metastases of ovarian carcinomas that spread to the peritoneum. In an oversubscribed private placement of US$25m, the company now bagged the capital needed to push clinical development of the treatment to the licensing stage.

New investors included Geveran Trading Co. Ltd., Canica AS, CGS Holding AS, Helene Sundt AS and Must Invest AS. “With this financing round we now have, in addition to the new funding, a shareholder base in the company that will enable Oncoinvent to bring Radspherin to a clinical proof of concept,” said Jan A. Alfheim, Oncoinvent's CEO. 

According to the company, Radspherin has shown strong and consistent anticancer activity without any visible signs of product-related toxicity in preclinical studies. Compared to beta emitters that have a range of cm within tissue, the alpha emitting radionuklide ²²⁴Ra that is mixed into a slowly degrading matrix of modified CaCO₃, has only a range of 0,1 mm minimizing the risk for systemic toxicity. In contrast to radionuklide-conjugated antibody therapies there is no risk that microsphere enter the blood stream. The stably stay in body cavities until they are completely degraded.

Oncoinvent plans to  place its product as treatment of several forms of metastatic cancer.  Peritoneal carcinomatosis is one of the most serious complications of gastrointestinal and gynecological malignancies.