Israeli oncology drug development company Ayala Pharmaceuticals has raised $17 million in a Series A financing round led by the Israel Biotech Fund and with the participation of aMoon and Harel Insurance & Finance. The company was founded last year to develop two cancer treatment candidates of Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), which is also a shareholder in the company.
The new funds will take the Rehovot-based company through initial results in the first Phase II study in recurrence or metastatic Adnoid Cystic Carcinoma (ACC) patients with activated Notch pathway and through conducting preclinical research to characterize additional indications for which AL101 may be effective. ACC is a rare cancer affecting glands in the head and neck, which has no approved treatment.
Ayala Pharmaceuticals expects the results of the Phase II trial for ACC in the first half of 2019 and is also exploring use of the drug's use in treating triple-negative breast cancer.
Ayala CEO Roni Mamluk, who is the former CEO of Chiasma Inc. and still a member of its board of directors, said the company is already preparing clinical development of its lead drug.
Mamluk plans licensing another product candidate and raising more money from Israeli and international investors. "We don't want to be a single-asset company," she said.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 11, 2018
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