ATP and NYU Langone Health Launch Aethon Therapeutics to Eradicate Drug-Resistant Cancer Cells – Aethon Therapeutics
Summary
Aethons HapImmune platform, described in a recent publication in the journal Cancer Discovery, unites immunotherapy and targeted therapy$30M in Series A funding, with $25M from Apple Tree Partners (ATP) and participation by NYU Langone HealthNEW YORK, January 9, 2023 New therapies targeting oncogenic mutations in proteins such as RAS and EGFR hold great promise for people fighting cancer. NYU Langone Health also participated in this funding round and holds equity in Aethon.Raj Chopra, FRCP, FRCPath, FRSB, Ph.D., Head of Oncology for ATP, and a Venture Partner at the firm, is acting Chief Executive Officer for Aethon, and Paul Da Silva Jardine, Ph.D., an ATP Venture Partner, is acting Chief Scientific Officer for the new company, which is based in New York City. Aethon is moving quickly to advance programs focused on combinations with KRAS and EGFR inhibitors, and over the mid to long term we plan to develop other bespoke drug-antibody combinations.Aethons proprietary HapImmune platform is a mechanism to increase the antigenicity of any cancer-specific protein that can be targeted with any covalent drug and presented by the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), an essential component of the adaptive immune system. By uniting immunotherapy and targeted therapy in this way, we hope to amplify the power of both.This is an amazing opportunity, and we are grateful to everyone who has been a part of this research over the years, Dr. Neel said. The core of ATPs strategy is providing flexible capital and access to a world-class team of venture partners and EIRs, to build sustainable, research-driven enterprises that deliver therapeutics to improve human lives.