Tentarix — creating next-generation multi-functional biologics
This week, we are pleased to announce our lead investment of a $35,000,000 Series B financing of antibody developer, Tentarix Biotherapeutics. It has been a strong month for the company which also announced a multi-asset deal with Gilead. We have been intrigued by the founders of the company for almost 10 years and have built a strong relationship with the management team over the last three. We are excited to work with this team and add this company to the Amplitude portfolio and we think that the company and its technology have a tremendous opportunity to accelerate novel therapeutics into the clinic and to patients.
Amplitude invests to create, build and grow world-leading innovative precision medicine companies and Tentarix is a great example of an Amplitude type of investment. Founded in Vancouver via a platform spinout from Innovative Targeting Systems, the company was started by a team of experienced drug developers with a vision to develop next-generation multi-functional biologics and bring them into patients. Tentarix has quickly moved the technology forward to build novel, multi-functional biologics, or Tentacles, that can target multiple different antigens while maintaining monoclonal antibody-like developability. Leveraging an exceptional and experienced team in biology, drug development, oncology and translational medicine, Tentarix is building one of the leading multi-functional biologics companies in the world and Amplitude is excited to provide capital to bring more products into their pipeline.
What are multi-functional biologics?
Antibodies, one of the first generation of biologic therapies have added significant firepower to the drug armamentarium. To date, there are over 130 approved antibodies treating a wide variety of conditions. While these modalities have the benefit of being very specific to their targets, but there remains much room for improvement to account for the complexities of biology.
In the last decade, technology in this area has advanced with the development of bispecific antibodies. First-generation antibodies, or monoclonal antibodies, have two arms that recognize the same target or antigen or the same binding domain. Bispecific antibodies on the other hand are engineered with two unique binding domains, meaning they can exert their effects on two separate targets at once.
These types of drugs activate powerful biology within the body which can activate a cell, change its fate, make it grow or even kill it. Since this type of activity is rarely specific to one cell, administering systemically active therapies may increase the therapeutic benefit and negatively affect other cells, which can cause toxicities.
In the last few years, many scientists and companies have been trying to develop multi-functional biologics that bind many different types of targets all within one therapy. Our belief is that these types of drugs where the targeting of two or more disease-implicated antigens will become the mainstay of therapy.
How Tentarix is solving the problem?
As we continue to understand the complexity, redundancy, and pleiotropy in many disease-relevant pathways, new modalities are necessary to offer disease benefits while reducing side effects. Tentarix is developing multi-functional biologics that bind to cell surface receptors alongside other cell surface proteins so that only when these targets are engaged do they activate the pathway.
This targeted, conditional activity allows Tentarix to harness powerful biology and direct its therapy to a specific cell type that drives therapeutic benefit while limiting toxicity. This has been done to date through screening millions of molecules and a novel platform that combines cell surface proteomics (CellSurf), binder generation (HuTARG) and a combination of assembly and identification of multi-functionals called FunctionSeq.
The power of the Tentarix platform was recently further validated through a multi-program deal with Gilead Sciences. Tentarix will receive upfront payments and an equity investment totaling $66 million from Gilead, which has the option to acquire up to three programs for $80 million each.
Canada’s continuation of developing and scaling world-class companies
Amplitude is extremely bullish on the exciting innovation coming out of the Canadian ecosystem to build globally competitive life sciences companies that can massively impact human health and compete on a global stage.
Tentarix is another example of a world-class company with global ambitions and access to great local resources that have helped the company be where it is today. With an exceptional and experienced team, a proprietary platform that generates novel multi-functional biologics, partnerships with world-leading pharma companies, experienced investors and continued interest in the multi-functional biologics space, Tentarix has positioned itself as a leader in the space for years to come.
We are thrilled we get to help scale this company into the clinic and we look forward to bringing multi-functional biologics into the market to help change patient’s lives.
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About Amplitude Ventures
Amplitude Ventures deploys a growth model that has successfully been used to build Canadian companies with world-class management teams and scale companies to breakout potential. Amplitude, with offices in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, has ~$500M in AUM and applies a proven, evidence-based approach to investing in leading Canadian and global precision medicine companies.
About Tentarix
Tentarix’s mission is to develop first-in-class targeted, multifunctional, conditional therapies. The Company is focused on modalities that have cell-specific function and has built a team that aims to transform biologics. For more information, please visit www.tentarix.com.
