- Series A co-led by founding investor M Ventures and new lead investors Hadean Ventures, Sofinnova Partners, and 4BIO Capital with syndicate including Bioqube Ventures, Surveyor Capital and others
- Led by founder and drug discovery expert Dr. Andreas Goutopoulos, Actithera’s proprietary three-pillar discovery platform is designed to enable prolonged radioligand tumor retention
- Proceeds will support clinical development of Actithera’s fibroblast activation protein (FAP)-targeting candidate and pipeline expansion
OSLO, Norway and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Actithera, a radiopharmaceutical biotech company translating medicinal chemistry insights into next-generation radioligand therapies (RLTs), today announced the close of an oversubscribed $75.5 million Series A financing round. The financing will support the advancement of Actithera’s lead FAP asset into clinical development in multiple indications, while also enabling the continued development of its proprietary RLT discovery platform and preclinical pipeline.
The round was co-led by founding investor M Ventures and new lead investors Hadean Ventures, Sofinnova Partners, and 4BIO Capital, with additional participation from Bioqube Ventures, Innovestor’s Life Science Fund, Investinor, Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), and second founding investor, Arkin Bio Ventures II.
The Company’s discovery platform combines rational drug design with radiochemistry to create novel small molecule radioligands that overcome current limitations in radiopharmaceutical development. Its three-pillar platform includes first-in-class covalent targeting strategies, designed to optimize tumor residence time, while ensuring rapid systemic clearance – improving precision, safety, and efficacy. Two additional proprietary approaches further support compound differentiation and improve tumor residence time and selectivity. This platform was validated through Actithera’s work on FAP, a high-value theranostic target known for being difficult to drug with molecules that maintain prolonged tumor residency. These efforts have resulted in a FAP-directed RLT development candidate with best-in-class potential due to its optimal pharmacokinetic profile and tumor specificity.
Dr. Andreas Goutopoulos, founder and CEO, brings over 25 years of pharmaceutical and biotech industry experience, including a track record of more than a dozen development candidates. His background includes over a decade of discovery leadership at EMD Serono, where he led medicinal chemistry. In his role as Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) at M Ventures, he led the scientific efforts of and supported a number of oncology small molecule biotechs. At Actithera, he is pioneering a chemistry-driven, precision approach to RLTs by integrating novel covalent-targeting chemistries, rational drug design principles and an isotope-agnostic philosophy.
“We set out to bring structure-based and kinetics-driven thinking from small molecule drug design into the world of radiopharmaceuticals,” said Dr. Andreas Goutopoulos. “This oversubscribed Series A, backed by a truly global and experienced investor syndicate, is strong validation of our approach. We engineer our radioconjugates for extended retention within tumors, making them ideally suited for longer-lived radionuclides and ultimately delivering more convenient dosing schedules and enhanced efficacy and safety for patients.“
Karl Naegler, incoming Board member and Partner at Sofinnova Partners, noted: “Actithera is applying Big Pharma discipline to an emerging field with enormous potential. Its radioligand therapies represent a meaningful shift in oncology, with the opportunity to redefine the therapeutic index. We’re excited to support that vision.”
Roger Franklin, incoming Board member and Partner at Hadean Ventures, added: “Actithera stands out as one of the most thoughtfully constructed radiopharma platforms we’ve seen, combining smart molecular design with a deep understanding of tumor biology and clinical need. The team’s work to align pharmacokinetics with therapeutic effect could transform how patients experience and benefit from radioligand therapies.”
Therese Liechtenstein, incoming Board member and Investment Director at 4BIO Capital, added: “We are honored to support Actithera, whose molecules address key challenges in the nascent radioligand therapies space; a large therapeutic window through high tumor retention and low systemic exposure, applied to a lead program that has significant pan-tumor therapeutic potential.”
Hakan Goker, current Chairman of Actithera, and Managing Director at M Ventures, said: “We are excited to see Actithera evolve from the one-person ideation we seeded with Andreas and Arkin to the transatlantic company it has become today. The innovative chemistry platform built and the first-in-class approach on FAP have the potential for a large impact in the RLT field and a significant benefit for patients. We welcome the new investor group and Board members to the company aligned with this bold vision of building the next generation of RLTs.”
As part of the Series A financing, Roger Franklin, Partner at Hadean Ventures, Karl Naegler, Partner at Sofinnova Partners, Therese Liechtenstein, Investment Director at 4BIO Capital, and Debbie Dumont, Managing Partner at Bioqube Ventures will join the Actithera Board of Directors, including Noga Yerushalmi, Investment Director at M Ventures, who is currently on the Board.
About Actithera
Actithera is a radiopharmaceutical biotech company translating medicinal chemistry insights into next-generation radioligand therapies (RLTs). Founded in 2021 by drug discovery innovator Dr. Andreas Goutopoulos, and seed investors M Ventures, and Arkin Bio Ventures II, Actithera applies various molecular design strategies, including covalent-targeting and an isotope-agnostic philosophy to invent RLTs with significant differentiation and larger therapeutic windows. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, Actithera is committed to advancing a differentiated pipeline addressing critical unmet needs in oncology. Learn more at www.actithera.com and on LinkedIn.
About M Ventures
M Ventures is the strategic, corporate venture capital arm of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. From its headquarters in the Netherlands and offices in Germany, USA and Israel, M Ventures invests globally in transformational ideas driven by innovative entrepreneurs. Taking an active role in its portfolio companies, M Ventures teams up with management teams and co-investors to translate scientific discoveries into commercial success. M Ventures focuses on investing along the two extensive investment areas Biotechnology and Technology covering the areas of Healthcare drug development, Life Science tools, Electronics, and Frontier Technology & Sustainability. For more information, visit m-ventures.com
About Hadean Ventures
Hadean Ventures is a European life science fund manager that invests in life science companies across Europe with a particular focus on the Nordic region. Hadean Ventures is managing funds backed by leading European and US-based, private and institutional investors. Hadean Ventures has offices in Oslo and Stockholm and collaborates with world-class academic institutions and start-up hubs across the region.
https://www.hadeanventures.com
About Sofinnova Partners
Sofinnova Partners is a leading European venture capital firm in life sciences, specializing in healthcare and sustainability. Based in Paris, London and Milan, the firm brings together a team of professionals from all over the world with strong scientific, medical and business expertise. Sofinnova Partners is a hands-on company builder across the entire value chain of life sciences investments, from seed to later-stage.
Founded in 1972, Sofinnova Partners is a deeply established venture capital firm in Europe, with 50 years of experience backing over 500 companies and creating market leaders around the globe. Today, Sofinnova Partners manages over €4 billion in assets. For more information, please visit: sofinnovapartners.com.
About 4BIO Capital
4BIO Capital (“4BIO”) is an international venture capital firm focused on investing in advanced therapies and emerging modalities, to unlock the treatments of the future. 4BIO’s mission is to invest in, support, and grow early-stage companies solving technical bottlenecks that enable next generation therapeutics in areas of high unmet medical need, with the ultimate goal of ensuring access to these potentially transformative therapies for all patients. The 4BIO team comprises leading advanced therapy scientists and experienced life science investors with an unrivalled network within the advanced therapy sector and a unique understanding of the criteria that define a successful investment opportunity in this space. For more information, connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter @4biocapital and visit www.4biocapital.com.
About Bioqube Ventures
Bioqube Ventures is an early-stage global life sciences investment firm with offices in Belgium and San Diego, CA. We source, finance and develop first-in-class and/or best- in-class therapeutics to treat patients suffering from debilitating diseases. With our product focused investment strategy, we aim to build balanced portfolios spanning company creation, preclinical and early clinical investments.
https://www.bioqubeventures.com/
SOURCE Actithera
