Ona Therapeutics has reported that over half of the planned patients for the clinical study of its antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), ONA-255, have already been enrolled, with the trial progressing rapidly through dose escalation. This advancement marks an important milestone for the company, particularly following its $86.6 million Series B financing.
The company is also developing ONA-389 for colorectal cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma, and ONA-418, which incorporates dual-linker, dual-payload technology. These programs are part of Ona's strategy to build a differentiated pipeline of ADCs targeting treatment-resistant cancer biology.
To support these advancements, Ona has appointed Aleix Prat, MD, PhD, as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Prat, an internationally recognized medical oncologist, brings extensive expertise in breast cancer, precision oncology, and drug development. He is Director of the Clínic Barcelona Comprehensive Cancer Center and Professor of Medicine at the University of Barcelona.
Valerie Vanhooren, PhD, Co-Founder and CEO of Ona Therapeutics, highlighted the significance of advancing ONA-255 and noted that Dr. Prat's expertise will be instrumental. ONA-255 is designed for resistant tumors, with an initial focus on HR+/HER2-negative advanced breast cancer and gastric cancer.
Jutta Amersdorffer, MD, MBA, will continue as Chief Development Officer, working closely with Dr. Prat on clinical strategy. The ongoing Phase 1a study is a multicenter, open-label trial evaluating the safety, tolerability, preliminary efficacy, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of ONA-255.
Ona Therapeutics, a clinical-stage company, is a spin-off from IRB Barcelona and ICREA, founded in 2019. Its mission is to develop next-generation antibody-drug conjugates to overcome growing treatment resistance across major cancer indications.
