Octimet Oncology NV, has secured EUR 11.3 million in a series A investment round, enabling the company to accelerate the development of a clinically de-risked MET kinase inhibitor, as single agent or in combination with standard of care and targeted agents for the treatment of solid cancers.

Octimet was founded in 2016 by Timothy Perera PhD, Ann Meulemans PhD, Paolo Comoglio, MD, PhD and Philip Owen FCA. headed by Dr. Timothy Perera, Octimet has licensed highly selective MET kinase inhibitors from Janssen Pharmaceutica NV and will advance the development of these molecules by employing innovative patient selection and pharmacodynamic biomarker-based approaches, as well as an innovative clinical development strategy, to provide differentiation both within the current treatment paradigms and from competitor agents.

Building upon a pre-existing strong pre-clinical and clinical data set, generated by Janssen and licensed to Octimet in a deal facilitated by the Johnson & Johnson Innovation Centre, London, Octimet has succeeded in raising over EUR 11 million. The funding round was led by V-Bio Ventures and Fund+, and further supported by a strong international investment syndicate including droia oncology ventures (Luxembourg/Belgium) and Omnes Capital (France). Octimet has obtained a feasibility grant from Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship (VLAIO) that facilitated the company formation. Seed funding was received from the VIB (Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie), to support an R&D collaboration with Prof. Massimiliano Mazzone at the Center for Cancer Biology (KU Leuven), and further seed funding from the lead investors was used to generate data to direct clinical indication selection.

Octimet is based at the JLINX facilities on the Janssen campus in Beerse, Belgium. Post-closing, the board of directors will be composed of Dr Timothy Perera (Octimet), Christina Takke (V-Bio Ventures), Jan Van den Bossche (Fund+), Janwillem Naesens (Droia Oncology) and Bruno Montanari (Omnes Capital).

Christina Takke, managing partner at V-Bio Ventures: “We are excited being part of this new venture. Octimet’s approach combined with new scientific evidence, a very strong clinical candidate and led by a seasoned management team enables the development of truly differentiated treatment options. This Series A closing supported by a well-diversified investor base is testament to both the quality of the assets as well as of the entire team.”

Jan Van den Bossche, partner at Fund+: “We are convinced that Octimet is uniquely positioned to play a significant role in the development of new cancer treatments. The impressive dataset that was available and the experienced and highly motivated management team provided us the necessary comfort to support this exciting venture. Moreover, Octimet fits perfectly with our policy to develop a leadership position for the life sciences sector in Belgium."

Timothy Perera, chief executive officer of Octimet said “We look forward to providing effective new treatment options for selected cancer patients backed by a highly engaged and experienced group of investors. Our long-standing experience in cancer drug development using innovative clinical development and biomarker strategies will allow us to rapidly generate clinical proof of concept for innovative drugs in areas of high unmet medical need.“