Bergen, May 26, 2013 – BerGenBio, an emerging oncology biopharma, today announced that it has secured an additional $.6 million from existing investors , Investinor, Sarsia Seed, Birk Venture, RO Invest and Meteva, as lead candidate BGB324 prepares to enter Phase I trials in Europe. BGB324 is an oral, selective first in class AXL receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor that targets tumour epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and is expected to be useful in the treatment of drug-resistant solid and haematological malignancies, including lung, pancreatic, breast cancer and myeloid leukemia.
Richard Godfrey, BerGenBio’s CEO said the additional funding would be used to support ongoing business activities, including the early clinical evaluation of BGB324: “The therapeutic potential of AXL inhibition in general, and BGB324 in particular, attracted a great deal of interest recently at AACR and is the subject of several posters at ASCO. Our preclinical studies show that inhibiting AXL activity with BGB324 in combination with standard of care cytotoxics and targeted therapies is very effective in preventing and reversing acquired resistance such as
Erlotinib-resistant NSCLC. Furthermore, used as a single agent BGB324 causes significant tumour regression in models of AML. We now look forward to taking BGB234 into clinic and potentially providing an important new tool in the fight against drug-resistant cancer.”