Cancer Radiation Startup Gets $105 Million in New Funding Round

(Bloomberg) -- Health investor OrbiMed Advisors LLC and medical-technology company Varian Medical Systems Inc. led a recent $105 million funding round for Fusion Pharmaceuticals, which is developing a radiation therapy that seeks to destroy cancer cells from within.

Boston-based Fusion said on Tuesday that the series B financing also included investments from Perceptive Advisors, Pivotal bioVenture Partners and Rock Springs Capital, bringing the total raised so far to $151 million.

Fusion develops alpha-particle radiotherapeutics, an injection therapy that emits localized radiation within cancer cells rather than from outside the body. The alpha particles target small tumors, and the radiation is subsequently flushed out of the body in urine, resulting in little damage to other cells.

“It’s like a bomb going off that’s limited to a short distance,” Fusion Chief Executive Officer John Valliant said in an interview. “It’s the ultimate personalized radiation therapy that can be delivered now to multiple tumors.”

The latest funding will allow Fusion to expand its team and build out the clinical program, he said.

Large drugmakers and biotech investors have been increasingly bullish on the competitive market for innovative cancer treatments, especially immuno-oncology, which uses the body’s immune system to fight malignant tumors. However, most clinical success in that field has been limited to only one mechanism, the so-called PD-1 inhibitor, such as Merck & Co.’s Keytruda and Bristol Myers Squibb Co.’s Opdivo, said OrbiMed partner Chau Khuong.

Investors who are looking only at immuno-oncology may be missing out on new developments in an older cancer treatment, he said.

“All the other targets haven’t yielded exciting clinical responses,” said Khuong, who will be joining Fusion’s board of directors. “The thing about radiation oncology, it’s been around a long time, so there’s an assurance this is going to kill tumors. The technology has now evolved, driving renewed interest.”

Varian, the market leader in external radiotherapy technology and equipment, reupped its investment in Fusion during the latest funding round. Greg Sorensen, vice president of strategy and business development, said alpha particles represent the next frontier of oncology.

“It delivers a lot of radiation to a very small radius,” Sorensen said. “If we can get this right, it’s powerful.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Riley Griffin in New York at rgriffin42@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Drew Armstrong at darmstrong17@bloomberg.net, Mark Schoifet, Timothy Annett

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