Singapore-based K2 Therapeutics announced on Aug 11 that it has secured a US$50 million seed round and appointed Huang Ying as its new chief executive.
The company was founded by biotech investment firm MPM BioImpact, which seeded the initial US$50 million to support the expansion of K2 Therapeutics’ portfolio and the advancement of its assets. Ansbert Gadicke, chairman of K2 Therapeutics and managing partner of MPM BioImpact, said the firm was created to combine a global search for science with drug development expertise and resources to translate innovation into patient impact.
K2 Therapeutics strategy and immediate priorities
Huang, the former CEO of Nasdaq-listed Legend Biotech, said his immediate focus is to raise a Series A round to support development of four assets K2 already holds and to pursue further business-development transactions. He noted there has been interest from healthcare funds.
At Legend Biotech, Huang led the development and commercialisation of cell therapies and “helped grow Legend Biotech from a Phase 1 clinical stage company to a biopharmaceutical company with more than 3,000 team members across the US, Europe and China,” the company said. He was previously a biotechnology equity analyst and head of biotech research at Merrill Lynch.
Huang described the lessons from his past role, saying: “The experience taught me how to assemble and manage a capable management team, scale the clinical, manufacturing and commercial operations for a multibillon-dollar franchise, work closely with major pharma partners such as J&J (Johnson & Johnson) and Novartis, and prioritise resources to invest in cutting-edge science.”
The company plans to expand its business-development, clinical and chemistry, manufacturing and controls teams in Asia and the US, while continuing to search for and evaluate potential assets to acquire and develop. Huang said: “We see lots of interesting innovations from the Apac region with novel mechanisms of action, improved safety and efficacy compared to existing standard of care, and ways of rapidly generating proof-of-concept data in patients in a capital-efficient manner.”
K2 intends to use a hub-and-spoke model, centralising leadership and strategy while developing assets in parallel. Huang noted the approach and access to MPM’s network are advantages: “More importantly, we can tap into the MPM expert network with deep expertise and experience from all aspects of drug development.”
