Ability Pharma gives entry to a Chinese industrial partner into its shareholding

AbilityPharma, based in the Vallès Technology Park, leads one of the most promising international research efforts for the treatment of pancreatic cancer, which is considered an "orphan disease," as beyond chemotherapy there are no effective and safe therapies. To finance its research, the company chaired by Carles Domènech has just signed an investment agreement of three million dollars with the Chinese company SciClone Pharmaceuticals, which joins its shareholding as an industrial partner.

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The collaboration between both companies already began in 2016, with a license agreement to develop and commercialize AbilityPharma's star molecule, named ABTLO812, in China. It is an innovative oral anticancer compound that causes the death of cancer cells through a process called autophagy. It has low toxicity and enhances the effects of chemotherapy treatments. This molecule has already proven effective for the treatment of lung and endometrial cancer, and now the Catalan laboratory is focused on a phase 2b clinical trial that has already received authorization from the US FDA and the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS).

Coinciding with the start of this trial, SciClone will now invest one million dollars in AbilityPharma and commits to contributing another two million as milestones are reached in the development of the innovative drug. "We are very happy to have reached this agreement with SciClone. This investment represents continuous support for our project and the company," said Doménech.

The entry of the Chinese company into Ability's shareholding comes after the biotech company managed to raise a total of 12.4 million euros in 2020 to finance its research. In addition to SciClone's contribution, this figure includes two million euros raised through a crowdfunding campaign on the collective investment platform Capital Cell, with the participation of 686 investors. In parallel, the US FDA granted a grant of 1.6 million euros to this development in October, which has also received 5.2 million euros from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Pilot Program.