BioWorld International Correspondent

LONDON - Antisoma plc said it will seek to raise £12 million (US$17.3 million) within the next year to expand its clinical pipeline.

CFO Raymond Spencer told BioWorld International, "We have £14.1 million in the bank, which is a very healthy cash position, giving us more than 12 months money. But we want to buy-in products to diversify risk."

Spencer said Antisoma, based in London, has not decided how to raise the money. "There are a number of options. We have no firm plans to go back to shareholders, and we could seek a licensing deal, though we want to go as far as possible with our products to get maximum value." Antisoma raised £9 million in a placement in August.

Despite the healthy cash balance, unless it raises more money, the company faces a funding gap between the middle of 2002 and 2003, when it expects lead product Theragyn to be launched. "We don't want to leave it until the last minute, and so we are looking to maintain the cash position," said Spencer.

Theragyn, a treatment for ovarian cancer, is licensed to Abbott Laboratories. Abbott is funding the Phase III study, which is expected to reach its target recruitment of 300 patients by the end of March.

Abbott has also licensed the compound in gastric cancer, but recruitment to that Phase II study has been slow, and Spencer said Antisoma is now considering how to speed it up. "At the moment the study is restricted to the UK, and one option is to start a new trial outside the UK," he said.

Although Abbott is funding both the ovarian and gastric cancer trials, Antisoma's cash burn is rising because the company has begun Phase I studies of TheraFab, a radiolabeled antibody treatment for lung cancer, and is about to start a clinical trial of a radiolabeled murine monoclonal antibody, BC-1, in glioma. BC-1 binds to fibronectin, a component of tumor blood vessels. It has also been humanized, and this form is in preclinical development for the treatment of solid tumors.

TheraFab is an injectable antibody fragment that will be radiolabeled with Yttrium-90. The aim is to use it in conjunction with standard external beam radiotherapy to increase the radiation dose at the site of the tumor without increasing the radiation damage to normal tissue. Yttrium-90 will destroy only cells in close proximity to the antibody-binding site. The first Phase I study is designed to assess the biodistribution of TheraFab, using an imaging agent in place of Yttrium-90.

Spencer said Antisoma is talking to several companies and academic groups and expects to license-in one further product that it can take into the clinic this year.