Avenzo Therapeutics Raises Capital to Transform Cancer Treatment

Funding rounds in oncology often reveal more than balance sheets. They hint at where the next breakthroughs might emerge and which scientific ideas are earning investor conviction.

Avenzo Therapeutics recently became part of that conversation, securing fresh capital to accelerate a growing clinical pipeline. The company’s raise reflects a broader confidence in targeted oncology—where smarter design and molecular precision are slowly reshaping how cancer is treated.

Focused Innovation in Oncology

Founded in 2022, Avenzo Therapeutics develops therapies for solid tumors using a dual-modality strategy built around selective small molecule inhibitors and bispecific antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). Headquartered in San Diego, the company is tackling one of oncology’s most persistent challenges: overcoming resistance while preserving safety and selectivity.

Since launch, Avenzo has raised $446 million to advance four clinical assets. Each one is designed to address the shortcomings of existing cancer therapies—either by refining cell-cycle control or by improving how targeted drugs deliver cytotoxic payloads.

At the foundation of this work are advanced analytical and screening platforms. Discovery teams rely on high-throughput cell-based assays, flow cytometry, and CRISPR-enabled functional genomics to understand how cancer cells adapt to treatment. In parallel, mass spectrometry, chromatography systems, and automated imaging track drug behavior and binding activity. These tools, standard in modern oncology R&D, make it possible to iterate rapidly from concept to candidate selection.

It’s a pragmatic approach, built less on novelty for its own sake and more on precision—designing therapies that can succeed where others have stalled.

Understanding the Limits of What Exists

Cancer therapy has come a long way, but the same challenges keep resurfacing: treatment resistance, toxicity, and a lack of precision. Even the most effective drugs eventually meet their match in tumor adaptation.

CDK4/6 inhibitors, a cornerstone of modern breast cancer treatment, illustrate this well. They work by disrupting cell-cycle progression, but because they target broad pathways, patients often experience dose-limiting toxicities. Meanwhile, some tumors escape entirely by activating alternate kinases such as CDK2 or CDK4—pathways that have remained difficult to inhibit selectively.

The same problem appears on the biologics side. Traditional antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), while powerful, can struggle with specificity. Many bind too narrowly or too broadly, missing tumor cells or harming healthy tissue. As tumors evolve, these therapies lose precision and potency.

Inside labs, researchers use high-content microscopy, Western blot systems, and cell viability assays to model how cancer cells resist therapy. These techniques, combined with flow cytometry and RNA sequencing, reveal the molecular tricks tumors use to survive. The resulting data inform Avenzo’s broader strategy: build therapies capable of anticipating resistance, not just reacting to it.

Leadership and Vision

Avenzo’s leadership team is anchored by veterans of oncology drug development who have seen therapies move from early experiments to global approval. Athena Countouriotis, M.D., serves as co-founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairperson. Over her two-decade career, she has led multiple IPOs and acquisitions, including Turning Point Therapeutics’ sale to Bristol Myers Squibb, and has built a reputation for clinical precision and capital efficiency.

Alongside her, Mohammad Hirmand, M.D., co-founder and Chief Medical Officer, directs Avenzo’s clinical programs and regulatory strategy. His background in oncology trial design and translational medicine helps shape how the company defines and measures success in the clinic.

Together, they’ve built an organization structured around lean execution. Avenzo’s labs use modular bioprocessing systems, robotic compound synthesis platforms, and cloud-based data pipelines to integrate chemistry, biology, and informatics. This infrastructure allows teams to work in parallel rather than sequence. A design that accelerates iteration and decision-making across programs.

Therapeutic Strategy: Two Paths, One Goal

Avenzo’s approach is built around two complementary modalities: selective small molecule CDK inhibitors and bispecific ADCs. Together, they aim to close the gaps left by conventional treatments, attacking tumors through separate but synergistic mechanisms.

The company’s CDK inhibitors are designed to be sharper tools for cell-cycle control. Rather than hitting multiple cyclin-dependent kinases at once, they isolate specific targets linked to unchecked growth. Here's a breakdown:

• AVZO-021: A CDK2 selective inhibitor in development for hormone receptor-positive breast cancer and CCNE1-amplified tumors. Preclinical data indicates nanomolar potency against CDK2 with selectivity over CDK1.

• AVZO-023: A CDK4 selective inhibitor with sub-nanomolar potency and selectivity over CDK6. Data presented at AACR showed efficacy both as monotherapy and in combination with AVZO-021.

Each compound’s selectivity is confirmed using enzymatic activity assays, kinome-wide profiling panels, and X-ray crystallography to visualize inhibitor binding at atomic resolution. These experiments, supported by mass spectrometry and liquid handling automation, create a feedback loop between chemistry and biology that refines each molecule’s precision before entering the clinic.

It’s not just about adding tools—it’s about aligning them toward the same goal: durable, well-tolerated cancer control.

Bispecific ADCs: Precision, Multiplied

Avenzo’s second therapeutic focus lies in bispecific antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), a next-generation format that allows a single molecule to recognize two different tumor antigens at once. This dual binding increases precision and reduces the chance that a tumor will slip past treatment by downregulating a single target.

The company is advancing two bispecific ADCs through early-stage clinical trials, AVZO-1418 and AVZO-103. Here's a breakdown:

• AVZO-1418: An EGFR/HER3 bispecific ADC developed through partnership with DualityBio, targeting two complementary pathways involved in tumor growth and resistance.

• AVZO-103: A Nectin4/TROP2 bispecific ADC developed through collaboration with VelaVigo, targeting two validated tumor antigens through a single therapeutic agent.

Developing these complex molecules requires an array of specialized technologies. Scientists use analytical ultracentrifugation, size-exclusion chromatography, and mass spectrometry to confirm conjugation ratios and payload stability. Flow cytometry and immunofluorescence imaging verify dual-target binding, while biolayer interferometry measures binding kinetics with single-digit picomolar precision. These methods ensure that every construct leaving the lab performs as designed.

Bispecific ADCs represent one of oncology’s fastest-moving frontiers. Avenzo’s entry into the space positions it to compete not only on innovation, but on execution, bringing complex molecules to trial faster than most of its peers.

Clinical Development Pipeline

Avenzo’s pipeline is already active across four parallel programs, each addressing a distinct resistance mechanism in solid tumors. The strategy reflects both ambition and discipline: advance multiple validated targets while maintaining enough focus to deliver meaningful clinical data.

AVZO-021, the company’s CDK2-selective inhibitor, is in a Phase 1 trial for hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer and advanced solid tumors. The molecule is evaluated using pharmacodynamic biomarker assays, mass spectrometry–based metabolomics, and imaging biomarkers that track cell-cycle inhibition in real time.

AVZO-023, the CDK4-selective inhibitor, entered Phase 1/2 development in 2025. The program explores both monotherapy and combination dosing with AVZO-021 to evaluate synergistic control of tumor proliferation. Together, these studies will test whether selective inhibition can outperform the broader CDK4/6 inhibitors that dominate today’s market.

On the ADC front, AVZO-1418 began a Phase 1/2 trial for advanced solid tumors in mid-2025, using PET-based tumor imaging, quantitative immunohistochemistry, and liquid biopsy assays to assess drug distribution and tumor antigen expression. AVZO-103, another Phase 1/2 bispecific ADC, initiated clinical dosing in September 2025.

Each program operates on a foundation of shared technology: automated data pipelines, bioinformatics dashboards, and cloud-based trial management systems that allow the team to monitor safety, efficacy, and biomarker trends across studies in near real time.

Strategic Partnerships

Avenzo’s rapid progress has been fueled by a set of carefully chosen collaborations that give the company access to cutting-edge platforms and global development reach.

Its partnership with DualityBio, announced in early 2025, granted Avenzo exclusive rights to develop and commercialize AVZO-1418 (DB-1418) outside of Greater China. The collaboration gives Avenzo access to DualityBio’s advanced ADC technology, which integrates site-specific conjugation systems and linker-payload optimization workflows designed to maximize drug stability and tumor selectivity.

Through VelaVigo, Avenzo obtained exclusive option rights for AVZO-103, a Nectin4/TROP2 bispecific ADC. The relationship brings together VelaVigo’s antibody-discovery engine and Avenzo’s translational and clinical expertise, uniting discovery-stage innovation with clinical execution.

Another key collaboration with Gilead Sciences pairs Avenzo’s AVZO-021, a selective CDK2 inhibitor, with Gilead’s Trodelvy for breast cancer. The partnership involves both clinical trial collaboration and drug-supply coordination, supported by shared biomarker analysis and data-integration infrastructure.

Behind these partnerships is a network of shared technical resources: bioanalytical assay development suites, compound characterization facilities, and preclinical imaging labs used jointly by Avenzo and its partners. It’s a model that allows a relatively young company to access mature technology without diluting its focus.

Funding and Backing

Avenzo’s growth has been matched by one of the more robust financing trajectories in recent biotech memory. In just three years, the company has raised $446 million across multiple rounds to fuel its dual-modality pipeline.

Its Series B, completed in September 2025, brought in $60 million, led by OrbiMed and SR One, with support from Longwood Fund and existing investors. The larger Series A and A-1, totaling $386 million in November 2024, was led by NEA, Deep Track Capital, Sofinnova Investments, and Sands Capital, alongside participation from Foresite Capital, Lilly Asia Ventures, Surveyor Capital, and other international backers.

This level of capital support enables Avenzo to maintain in-house chemistry and translational teams while outsourcing manufacturing and late-stage analytics to trusted partners. Funding also sustains access to compound screening platforms, clinical-grade bioreactors, and GLP-certified bioanalytical facilities. Critical infrastructure for early oncology companies scaling toward clinical validation.

Investors are betting that Avenzo’s mix of technical precision and pragmatic leadership will turn its growing toolkit into durable clinical impact.

Market and Momentum

The oncology landscape continues to expand rapidly, but it’s also becoming more selective. Investors and physicians alike are demanding drugs that combine meaningful efficacy with better tolerability and biomarker-defined precision.

Avenzo is positioned at that intersection. Its selective CDK2 and CDK4 inhibitors address growing fatigue with the broad-spectrum toxicity of first-generation cell-cycle drugs. Its bispecific ADCs advance a class that has already proven commercially viable, offering a credible step forward rather than a speculative leap.

Market data underscores the opportunity. The global CDK inhibitor market remains constrained by dose limitations and resistance, creating room for better-designed small molecules. Meanwhile, the ADC sector continues to attract record investment, with bispecific and linker-optimized constructs representing the next competitive tier.

To compete, companies need more than capital—they need operational infrastructure. Avenzo’s investment in modular manufacturing partnerships, analytical chemistry suites, and translational imaging capabilities gives it a scalable foundation that many young oncology companies lack.

It’s this blend of focus, funding, and infrastructure that sets Avenzo apart in a crowded field.

Looking Forward

Avenzo Therapeutics has built itself around a simple but demanding premise: precision over proliferation. The company isn’t chasing the next big buzzword in oncology. It’s building therapies that answer well-defined biological questions and applying rigorous data to every decision along the way.

Its dual-modality approach—selective small molecules on one side, bispecific ADCs on the other—creates flexibility in how resistance can be tackled. If one pathway falters, another can be refined or combined. That adaptability, supported by deep partnerships and a strong capital base, gives Avenzo the means to evolve with the science.

The next test lies in the clinic. Phase 1 and 2 results across the portfolio will determine whether these molecules can translate their preclinical precision into durable responses for patients. If the data hold, Avenzo could help redefine how selectivity and combinatorial targeting shape the next generation of cancer care.

Even if the path proves uneven, the company’s infrastructure (automated discovery tools, cross-platform analytics, and access to advanced biologics manufacturing) ensures it remains part of oncology’s forward motion. For a field defined by incremental progress, that kind of consistency is often the difference between noise and impact.