French biotech company Step Pharma raises €35m in a Series B round

Step Pharma has raised €35 million in a Series B financing round for advancing STP938, its lead CTPS1 inhibitor into clinical development for the treatment of T-cell malignancies.

The French biotech company is engaged in developing novel drugs for oncology and autoimmune diseases.

The Series B round was co-led by new investors Sunstone Life Science Ventures and Hadean Ventures. The duo joined existing investors – Kurma Partners, Pontifax, and Bpifrance.

Bpifrance reinvested in Step Pharma via its Innovative Biotherapies and Rare Diseases fund and InnoBio 2 fund.

Andrew Parker – CEO of Step Pharma said: “The closing of this Series B will enable Step Pharma to transform into a clinical-stage company, enabling us to advance our lead compound into the clinic in Q1 2022.

“We’d like to welcome our new investors and thank existing investors for their continued support of the company.”

French biotech company Step Pharma raises €35m in a Series B round. Photo courtesy of Markus Winkler from Pixabay.

CTPS1, which expands to cytidine triphosphate synthase 1, is an enzyme that has a key role in DNA synthesis, cell division and proliferation. Its function is said to be highly selective to certain cell types, especially to proliferating T cells, which makes it an ideal target for developing drugs, said Step Pharma.

Roger Franklin – Partner at Hadean Ventures said: “CTPS1 is an elegant target for the development of drugs in the T-cell malignancy space in which there is significant unmet need. The strength of the underlying science, its support from human genetic work as well as the clear commercial opportunity were key factors in our decision to back Step and co-lead this significant financing.”

Step Pharma will also use the proceeds from the Series B round to advance the development of its CTPS1 inhibitors in other hematological malignancies and solid tumors.