Kyoto University spinout RadioNano raises Series B for cancer radiation therapy trials
What's the deal? RadioNano TherapeuticsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Kyoto UniversityDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → spinout developing drugs for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT), completed the first close of its Series B round on November 9. Mitsui Mining & SmeltingDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Kyoto University Innovation CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → subscribed to the raise via a third-party share allotment. The company did not disclose the amount.
What's the endgame? RadioNano is commercialising boron-containing nanoparticle technology developed by professors Naoki Komatsu and Minoru Suzuki at Kyoto University. Its lead pipeline, RN-501, is a new boron drug built from inorganic nanoparticles designed to concentrate in cancer tissue.
How does it work? BNCT delivers a boron-10 drug into the body, then irradiates it with thermal neutrons. The resulting nuclear reaction produces alpha particles and lithium nuclei that destroy cancer cells.
Because the effect is localised, the therapy is said to damage cancer cells while sparing surrounding healthy tissue. Conventional radiation often requires multiple sessions, while BNCT can be effective in a single treatment. Japan became the first country to approve BNCT for insurance coverage in 2020.
What's the money for? The company will launch a Phase I/IIa clinical trial of RN-501 to confirm safety and tolerability in humans. Funds will also build GMP manufacturing and supply for the investigational drug, and strengthen its development team.
Why now? RadioNano has completed non-clinical studies, prepared for trials, and secured a core patent for RN-501. The company says it is now moving into clinical development. It claims RN-501 can reduce side effects, treat cancers that conventional BNCT struggled with, and work at lower doses over shorter times. RN-501 remains in development, and its efficacy and safety are not established.
The signal: RadioNano's raise reflects momentum behind targeted radiation therapies that aim to spare healthy tissue, backed in this case by an industrial partner and a university fund rooted in the technology's origins.
Read more: thebridge.jp
Image credit: Sam Blackman
