The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, a comprehensive cancer center in Houston in the US, is aiming to raise $250m for the Cancer Focus Fund II.
It comes five years after launching the original Cancer Focus Fund with more than $50m in capital. The news was first reported by Endpoints News which surfaced a regulatory filing that shows no capital has been secured yet.
The Cancer Focus Fund invests in cancer treatment developers at the phase 1 to phase 1/2 clinical stages. It relies on a scientific committee of clinicians and innovators to provide diligence.
Its partnership with the university enables the fund to offer translational research expertise from the MD Anderson Cancer Center.
The exclusive agreement with MD Anderson also allows the Cancer Focus Fund to secure preferential pricing on services and prioritisation and a dedicated development track within the phase 1 unit at the centre.
Additionally, the fund has a right of first offer to technologies emerging from the centre.
The Cancer Focus Fund is managed by general partner The Focus Fund. The original vehicle was officially launched in October 2020, though $49.7m had been secured by December 2019.
The first fund’s limited partners include the MD Anderson Cancer Center, Rice University Endowment and LSU Health Shreveport Foundation, one of two health sciences centres attached to the Louisana State University system.
The Baton Rouge Area Foundation, health system Ochsner Health and unnamed private investors also contributed to the originial Cancer Focus Fund.
Portfolio companies from the first fund include ImmunoGenesis, which is working on therapies for tumours with immune resistance mechanisms, Eisbach, which targets genetic vulnerabilities of cancer cells, and Starget Pharma, a radiotherapy developer.