‘Luck only comes to the most prepared people,’ says AltruBio CEO

AltruBio, a clinical-stage biotech focused on immunological disease therapeutics, secured up to $225 million in an oversubscribed Series B financing round in May. The funding will advance Phase II clinical trials of the company’s checkpoint enhancer (ICE) PSGL-1 agonist antibody, ATLB-268, for ulcerative colitis (UC).

The funding round was led by BVF Partners LP with involvement from new investors Cormorant Asset Management, RA Capital Management, and Soleus Capital, as well as existing investors Blackstone Multi-Asset Investing, aMoon Fund and others who joined the syndicate.

After successfully closing one of the largest Series B funding rounds in the last three years, Chou told BioXconomy, “luck only comes to the most prepared people or prepared company.”

Judy Chou, CEO of AlTruBio. Image C/O: LifeSci Communications

She explained how “some people call us lucky” for securing this funding “but I really will take the credit about being strategic because we made up our mind up to focus on UC back in 2021 and throughout the course of 2021 to 2024, more than 50% of the investors criticized that maybe that’s not right indication to pick.”

While she made it clear that sticking to the science is not about “being stubborn”, Chou described how “there will always be some questions as a start-up. We may not have all the answers, but we have something we believe [in] – the hypothesis.” According to Chou, that is a risk investors understand and are willing to take.

Risk is always involved. Chou pointed out another key factor associated with securing funding from investors is the ability to deliver: “We said we were going to have the Phase II investigational new drug (IND) application submitted by the end of last year. We actually dosed the first patient before the end of the year, I think that totally impressed the investor.”

The success of AltruBio’s Series B financing round and the deliverables the company is achieving could not be done without the team. In essence, the science is as important as the people driving it, she told us.

Every input counts

Chou described how as a leader she is “democratic” and conducts a “brainstorming stage” where “everybody can really voice what they are thinking” when deciding the strategy for funding and the future.

Though everybody gets to “raise their concern and debate”, she told us “The decision making is very monocratic.” After collectively discussing “five or maybe ten different versions about the debate”, Chou makes the decision. She applauded the team and the company’s culture because once that decision is made, we stop the debate and give it the best chance for the strategy.”

Despite the monocratic nature, she stated for her team decision making is not an unquestioned process. Everybody “has a different level of tolerance” when thinking about risk and “some people may need a little bit longer to internalize.”

She continued: “At my company we care about the working culture, and that's something we are proud about and talk about. And I think it's probably no surprise we have won best place to work three years in a row. And even though it’s a tiny little team, I think because people feel they have a chance to voice their opinions, matter how positive or negative, we have a good discussion and move forward.”

Series B and beyond

Start-ups generally require continuous access to funding to drive their product to the clinical and commercialization. BioXconomy asked Chou if she would change her strategy if the company were to seek further funding in the future.

She responded that she “did not want to sound arrogant, but I think for the majority we probably will not change it.” By that, Chou meant the strategy of “raising money before you need it, matching the upward for the investor, and sticking to what we believe in.”

However, she highlighted how everybody in the industry seeking funding “needs to be very mindful about different capital market environments” and the requirement “to make different levels of adjustment” to suit it.

Chou reflected on the wave of funding the biotech space experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. She said AltruBio “arrived at the tail end [of this]” when the firm completed its oversubscribed $63 million Series A financing in April 2021. She told us how that capital environment “is very different from when we did our Series B.”

Therefore, we “adjusted our strategy and made sure this aligned with investors best interest. So, I would say the piece we will do different will be based on the capital market situation. And I think that is something everybody will need to reflect on.”

Chou rounded off the interview by stating that AltruBio is “very excited” to get Phase IIa data”out in the middle of next year, which will “more or less kick off our Phase IIb study.” Additionally, the firm would like to begin looking into another indication. “Next year is going to be a very busy year for us to build up the company based on the data and react to the data, but I am very much looking forward to 2025.”

Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity