Could you share with us your professional journey and experience in the field of oncology?
I began my career as a physician and medical oncologist, deeply involved in research and patient care. My journey started at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, affiliated with Harvard, where I led the genitourinary oncology program for 28 years, focusing on prostate, testicular, bladder and kidney cancers. Following this, I moved to New York to chair the Department of Medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, another renowned cancer center. There, I managed a large faculty and continued my research and patient care. Personal reasons brought me back to Boston, where I eventually joined Convergent Therapeutics after a 35-year tenure in academic medicine. At Convergent, I saw an opportunity to make a significant impact in the field of cancer treatment.
Could you tell us more about the inception of the company and your role in it?
The scientific foundation of the company was laid by Neil Bander at Weill Cornell in New York City. I evaluated numerous companies before deciding to join Convergent, attracted by the opportunity it presented. My background in oncology, particularly in developing FDA-approved treatments for prostate cancer, aligns with Convergent's focus. My decision to lead Convergent was influenced by my extensive experience in genitourinary cancers and the potential to bring significant advancements in the field.
Can you elaborate on why genitourinary cancers, especially prostate cancer, have been a focal point in your career and now in Convergent?
My involvement in genitourinary cancers was more opportunistic than planned. When I was completing my fellowship at Dana-Farber, I was asked to stay on as faculty. The genitourinary cancer program lacked leadership, so I took the opportunity. Testicular cancer was largely cured, but the others posed significant challenges. Over the years, we have seen major advances in understanding and treating these diseases, especially prostate cancer, which has been a central focus of Convergent. This focus aligns with my career-long involvement in the field and the significant progress we have made in treatment options.
What are the 'next-generation targeted radiotherapies' that Convergent is working on, and how do they differ from traditional treatments like chemotherapy or radiotherapy?
Traditional cancer treatments have been primarily surgery and radiation for localized tumors, and chemotherapy for systemic therapy. While chemotherapy has been incrementally beneficial, it is rarely curative except in certain cancers like testicular cancer and some lymphomas and leukemias. The emergence of precision medicine and targeted therapies marked a significant shift, but these too have had incremental success in many cancers. Immunotherapy, another recent advancement, has shown promising results in treating some cancers effectively.
Convergent is focusing on delivering targeted treatments more efficiently. We are pioneering the use of alpha particle radiation, specifically actinium-225, to target cancer cells.
We believe using antibodies to deliver this radiation is more effective than other carriers. Our approach minimizes the damage to non-targeted areas like salivary glands and kidneys, thus reducing toxicity. Currently, we are focusing on prostate cancer, using antibodies directed at prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) to deliver alpha particle radiation. We have treated over 120 patients so far with very promising results and are moving into more advanced clinical trials.
Your treatment aims to spare healthy tissues. Can you elaborate on the side effects and efficacy of this approach?
While no oncology therapies are completely non-toxic, our approach is less toxic due to its precision in delivering the treatment. It does have some side effects, such as mild bone marrow suppression, but these are relatively mild compared to long-term effects like salivary gland and kidney toxicity. This precision also contributes to the efficacy of the treatment, evidenced by promising response rates and the durability of responses in our clinical trials.
Could you provide some success rates from your clinical trials?
In our initial trials, almost 50% of patients responded to the treatment, which is remarkable for a first in man study. In more advanced studies, about 75% of patients responded, with many showing durable remissions for over a couple of years. We aim to move the drug earlier in the disease landscape, which might offer a chance of curing patients. Combining this therapy with other treatments is also showing increased efficacy in trials.
Is Convergent currently focusing only on prostate cancer?
Yes, our current focus is on prostate cancer. However, our vision extends to applying this alpha particle radiation delivery technology to other cancers using different targets and antibodies. This technology is simpler than other methods like antibody-drug conjugates and has the potential to widen the therapeutic window in a broad range of cancers. Over the next few years, we plan to target at least three other cancers, although I cannot disclose these targets at this moment.
Convergent started in the midst of the pandemic, which was a good time for biotechs. How has the investment climate changed since then? Tell us more about your recent Series A financing?
Convergent was founded in 2021, during what many consider the golden age of biotech investment. Initially, we had sufficient funds to sustain us for two years, allowing us to focus on patient treatment and developing our supply chain for antibodies and actinium-225. During 2021 and 2022, when investment in biotech was booming, we were not actively seeking additional funding. However, when we began fundraising in late 2022, the investment climate had drastically changed, with a significant slowdown in biotech investments.
Despite these challenges, we managed to secure financing from three leading venture firms in April 2023, impressed by our clinical data. This funding has provided us with a solid runway for the next few years. While the biotech sector is currently facing a tough investment climate, Convergent's clinical results have continued to attract interest from investors and pharmaceutical companies.
What are Convergent’s objectives for the next three to five years?
In the short term, our primary goal is to transition our Investigational New Drug (IND) application from an academic to a commercial setting in Q1 2024, followed by advancing to phase two clinical trials across the United States. We aim to begin Phase 3 trials in 2025. Our strategy includes not only progressing our lead asset through these clinical trial phases but also developing other radioantibodies targeting various cancers. We believe our technology has wide applications in oncology, and we're committed to exploring these possibilities while advancing our current lead asset through critical development stages.
