Press Release.
Series Seed Equity Round led by Advent Life Sciences
BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–PIC Therapeutics (“PIC”), a biotechnology company focused on transforming the treatment of cancer though the selective
modulation of oncogene translation, closed a $5M Series Seed round of preferred equity funding.
The oversubscribed round was led by Advent Life Sciences (“Advent”), and included participation by Belinda Termeer, widow of legendary Genzyme CEO Henri Termeer, as well as several biopharmaceutical industry executives and other individual investors.
PIC Therapeutics was founded based on the extensive research of scientific founder Professor Gerhard Wagner of Harvard University and is led by founding CEO Sun Altbach, a 20+ year life sciences veteran and by Dr. Alan Walts, Executive Chairman and Venture Partner at Advent Life Sciences.PIC is supported by a world-renowned Scientific Advisory Board and Board of Directors.
PIC targets the “master switch” of cancer signaling pathways, blocking oncogene protein production by selectively modulating the Pre-Initiation Complex (PIC), specifically eIF4E – a convergence point driving oncogene RNA translation. PIC Therapeutics’ targeted approach has the potential to simultaneously impact multiple oncogenic drivers leading to a powerful new generation of cancer-treating therapeutics that address drug resistance and tumor heterogeneity, issues that plague many existing treatments.
Sun Altbach, CEO commented,
“This is an important step for PIC as we seek to transform how cancer is treated and therefore make a significant difference in patients’ lives. With this funding in hand we can accelerate our program focusing on allosteric regulation of eIF4E via an innovative drug development platform designed to produce early proof of concept in advance of the clinic.”
Alan Walts, Executive Chairman and Venture Partner at Advent added,
“PIC is a leader in the rapidly advancing field of translational modulation of oncogenes. PIC has developed a best in class portfolio of proprietary small molecule modulators of eIF4E and a comprehensive platform to validate human tumor activity. We are pleased to support their efforts to develop a new class of cancer therapies.”
PIC’s Board of Directors consists of:
- Alan Walts, PhD, Executive Chairman of the Board; Venture Partner, Advent Life Sciences
- Sun Altbach, MBA, CEO and President, PIC Therapeutics
- Richard Peters, MD, PhD, Co-Founder, PIC Therapeutics; CEO Yumanity Therapeutics
- Belinda Termeer, Termeer Foundation
- Gerhard Wagner, PhD, Co-Founder, PIC Therapeutics; Elkan Rogers Blout Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School
PIC’s Scientific and Corporate Advisory Board consists of:
- Keith Flaherty, MD, Director of Clinical Research at the Cancer Center at MGH
- Jennifer Petter, PhD, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Arrakis Therapeutics
- Nahum Sonenberg, PhD, Biochemistry Professor and Gilman Cheney Chair, McGill University
- Yat Sun Or, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, Enanta Pharmaceuticals
- Jan Van Heek, MBA, Board Member, Amarin Corporation and Minerva Neuroscience
- Gerhard Wagner, PhD, Co-Founder, PIC Therapeutics; Elkan Rogers Blout Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School
About PIC Therapeutics
PIC Therapeutics is a Boston, MA-based biotechnology company focused on fundamentally changing how we treat cancer by developing a new generation of therapeutics based on the modulation of RNA translation. PIC’s therapeutics target the “master switch” of cancer signaling pathways, selectively blocking oncogene protein production by modulating the Pre-Initiation Complex (PIC) that drives their mRNA translation. PIC Therapeutics’ selective approach has the potential to simultaneously modulate multiple oncogenic drivers leading to a powerful new generation of cancer-treating therapeutics.
PIC is guided by a dedication to improving cancer patient outcomes and to realizing the potential of our technology to their benefit.
About Advent Life Sciences
Advent Life Sciences founds and invests in early- and mid-stage life sciences companies that have a first- or best-in-class approach to unmet medical needs. The investing team consists of experienced professionals, each with extensive scientific, medical and operational experience, a long-standing record of entrepreneurial and investment success in the US and Europe and is particularly focused on supporting entrepreneurs and founders to take innovative new medical entities from concept to approval. The firm invests in a range of sectors within life sciences, principally drug discovery, enabling technologies and med tech, always with an emphasis on innovative, paradigm-changing approaches. Advent Life Sciences has a presence in the UK, US and France. For more information, please visit
Contacts
PIC Therapeutics
Sun Altbach, CEO and President
info@pictherapeutics.com
+1 617-637-378
