Aspyrian Therapeutics Inc. closes a $40M Series B financing to advance the precision targeted cancer therapy, RM-1929, to late stage clinical development in recurrent head and neck cancer and other cancer areas.

SAN DIEGO, March 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Aspyrian Therapeutics Inc., a clinical stage drug development company creating precision-targeted therapies to treat cancer based on its proprietary Photoimmunotherapy platform has secured $40 million as part of a Series B financing. The Series B financing was provided by Hiroshi Mikitani through his personal investment companies. Hiroshi Mikitani is the CEO of Rakuten, Inc., one of the world's leading internet e-commerce and service companies headquartered in Japan. Hiroshi Mikitani is also a Director of Aspyrian Therapeutics' board. This financing will accelerate clinical development efforts of the antibody conjugate RM-1929 towards approval and commercialization in recurrent head and neck cancer as well as other cancer areas.

"We are honored to have the support from Hiroshi Mikitani and share a common vision to provide cancer patients with novel targeted approaches to battle and conquer their disease. We believe that RM-1929, a first-in-class drug emerging from our proprietary precision targeted cancer therapy platform, Photoimmunotherapy, has the potential to transform the standard of care of a number of cancer areas. I congratulate our team for their excellent work to enable the rapid progression of RM-1929 through clinical studies," said Miguel Garcia-Guzman, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Aspyrian Therapeutics Inc.

"This funding will not only allow us to complete our Phase I/II clinical trials and proceed to registration trials for recurrent head and neck cancer, but importantly will allow us to evaluate the efficacy of RM-1929 to treat, control and potentially cure other cancers that have failed standard of care treatment," said Merrill Biel, M.D. Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer of Aspyrian Therapeutics Inc. 

The Series B financing will also support the expansion of R&D activities, including progression of additional drugs into the clinic to expand the pipeline and the development of novel immunotherapy approaches. "We are exploring new methods to engage and activate the immune system which, in conjunction with Photoimmunotherapy, may result in a unique immunotherapy approach to safely and effectively treat both localized and metastatic cancers," said Miguel Garcia-Guzman, Ph.D.

About Aspyrian Therapeutics Inc.

Aspyrian Therapeutics, Inc., is a privately funded clinical stage biotechnology company developing a new class of precision targeted oncologic drugs for the treatment of solid tumors based on the Photoimmunotherapy platform licensed from the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

More information is available at  www.aspyriantherapeutics.com.

SOURCE Aspyrian Therapeutics Inc.

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