French antibody specialist Adcytherix has added a 105 million euro ($122 million) series A to its coffers, money the Marseille-based biotech will use to push its lead antibody drug conjugate into clinical trials.
Bpifrance led the round, alongside Kurma Partners, Andera Partners, Angelini Ventures, Citadel’s Surveyor Capital, aMoon and all of the company’s founders and previous investors, Adcytherix said in an Oct. 16 release.
The series A haul more than triples Adcytherix’s seed funding from June 2024, when the biotech brought in 30 million euros in a round led by Pontifax Venture Capital.
With the new cash, the company plans to file an investigational new drug application in the U.S.—plus submit clinical trial applications in the U.K., Canada and Europe—by the end of the year for lead candidate ADCX-020. At the same time, the biotech will work to expand its ADC pipeline.
“Closing the largest ADC-focused series A in Europe in 2025 validates our science, our vision and the exceptional work of our team since inception just 18 months ago,” Adcytherix’s CEO and founder Jack Elands, Ph.D., said in the release.
Adcytherix’s goal is to develop new treatments for cancers of high unmet need, according to the release, but the company has yet to reveal the specific indication it intends to first pursue for ADCX-020.
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The team behind Adcytherix is the same that founded Emergence Therapeutics, another European ADC maker that was acquired by Eli Lilly in June 2023.
So far, 2025 has been a mixed bag for ADC startups. Some have closed healthy fundraising rounds, like Minghui Pharmaceutical’s $131 million series B in August and Callio Therapeutics’ $187 million series A launch. Others have hit serious setbacks, like Sutro Biopharma’s two rounds of layoffs after losing an Ipsen deal or ADC Therapeutics deactivating its U.K. research site and shedding 30% of its staff after dropping its only clinical-stage asset.
