Germany's Tubulis has secured EUR 308 million Series C financing led by Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners to advance NaPi2b-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) TUB-040, after a Phase I/IIa trial demonstrated 59% objective response rate (ORR) in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer patients. The candidate utilises proprietary Tubutecan technology featuring an exatecan topoisomerase I inhibitor payload with drug-to-antibody ratio (DAR) of 8 through a cleavable linker system. Funding will support expansion into earlier treatment lines and additional tumour types including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), alongside clinical development of the 5T4-targeting TUB-030 programme.

The NAPISTAR1-01 study enrolled 67 platinum-resistant ovarian cancer patients across 1.67 to 3.3 milligram per kilogram dosing cohorts, showing 96% disease control rate (DCR) with a manageable toxicity profile (predominantly grade one or two events without treatment-related discontinuations). Tubulis chief medical officer (CMO) Günter Fingerle-Rowson highlighted the broad therapeutic window enabling flexible dosing strategies validated through first human proof-of-concept data. NaPi2b overexpression occurs in 80% of ovarian adenocarcinomas and 70% of lung adenocarcinomas with limited normal tissue expression, representing a promising target for ADC development.

According to PharmCube's MedAlpha® database, Tubulis has raised a total USD 570 million so far. Click here to request a free trial for MedAlpha®.