Akrevia Therapeutic, a Cambridge, MA-based biotech startup focused on developing highly-potent, tumor-targeted immuno-oncology therapeutics has raised $30 million in funding led by F-Prime Capital Partners and Atlas Venture. The funding will be used to accelerate Akrevia’s pipeline and proprietary Aklusion® platform, which allows therapeutic antibodies, cytokines and chemokines to be specifically activated in the tumor microenvironment and tailored with precisely optimized pharmacologic properties.
Founded in 2015, “Akrevia” is derived from the Greek word for “precision”, which reflects the company’s mission to precisely deliver the activity of potent, tailored immunotherapies exactly where it’s needed. Akrevia’s Aklusion platform, based on technology licensed from City of Hope and Thomas Jefferson University, allows potently active biological molecules to be inactive until they encounter the tumor microenvironment.
With a potential best-in-class anti-CTLA4 antibody as validation, the technology can be applied broadly to other biologic architectures, including highly-potent cytokines and chemokines which currently have limited or no clinical utility due to toxicities. By tailoring pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties in parallel, Aklusion allows the design of molecules with potential best-in-class potency and selectivity.
“Targeting is key to unlocking the true potential of immuno-oncology,” said Tim Clackson, Ph.D., President, and EVP R&D, Akrevia Therapeutics. “Currently, we don’t lack potential agents – just the ability to effectively and safely deliver them where they’re needed, and with precisely tailored properties. Our vision at Akrevia is to unleash the full potential of immune stimulating molecules including antibodies, cytokines, and chemokines, as new options for patients living with cancer.”
