Araris founders Dr. Dragan Grabulovski, Dr. Isabella Attinger-Toller, Dr. Philipp Spycher
We are delighted to share two major news updates from our portfolio company Araris Biotech AG (RAC IV). Araris has secured a strategic investment from Samsung Ventures and has acquired ARS Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s Nectin-4 antibody, marking a significant milestone in the company's journey towards developing innovative cancer treatments using their proprietary antibody-drug conjugate (ADC)- linker technology.
With the acquisition of the Nectin-4 antibody, Araris will be able to expand their pipeline of ADCs to treat solid tumors of high unmet medical need.
Araris CEO and co-founder, Philipp Spycher, Ph.D., said, "We aim to use this antibody together with our one-step conjugation technology and linker-payload toolbox for the development of next-generation Nectin-4 targeted therapies. In preliminary head-to-head studies, we demonstrated our linker technology enables improved efficacy and tolerability compared to existing Nectin-4 therapies, allowing Araris to generate ADCs with an improved therapeutic index. Acquiring this Nectin-4 antibody from ARS is a meaningful step forward for Araris in expanding our pipeline of ADC therapeutics and moving closer to advancing a candidate into clinical development.”
Today, one major limitation of ADCs is that the linker between the antibody and the drug lacks stability in the human body, leading to a premature loss of payload. This often results in systemic toxicity and limits broader adoption among patients. Araris’ linker platform addresses this limitation by offering a linker that is stable in serum and under stress conditions. In addition, Araris’ linker technology allows for the attachment of any payload to ‘off the shelf’ antibodies without the need for prior antibody engineering or reduction, significantly reducing the time required to generate new ADCs.
Since we came on board as Araris’ first institutional investor in 2019, we've loved watching the company grow into a true GameChanger in the biotech industry. We're delighted to continue acting as a sparring partner to the founders and to support the team as they develop even more effective cancer-fighting treatments.
For more information, please visit Araris' website.