Key Highlights:

• ARC Innovation announced the successful $5.1 million funding round of Starget Pharma, a startup specialising in precise cancer diagnosis and targeted radiotherapy.
• The investment was secured from Cancer Focus, a fund established in collaboration with the MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas.
• Starget Pharma had raised a total of $10 million to date and is leveraging AI technology to accelerate the development of personalised cancer therapies.

ARC Innovation, the innovation arm of Sheba Medical Center, Israel’s largest hospital and a global specialist in clinical trials and medical innovation, announced the successful $5.1 million funding round of Starget Pharma, a startup specialising in precise cancer diagnosis and targeted radiotherapy. The investment was secured from Cancer Focus, a fund established in collaboration with the MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas, one of the world’s leading cancer centres.

Starget Pharma, founded in 2019 via ARC, is at the forefront of developing innovative radioligand-based therapies that precisely target tumour cells with focused radiation, minimising damage to surrounding healthy tissue. The funds will support an upcoming clinical trial aimed at treating cancers such as sarcomas, neuroendocrine tumours, melanoma, and liver cancer. The trial will be conducted at the University of Texas and other leading institutions, with patient recruitment expected to begin in early 2025.

Before this investment, Starget Pharma has raised a total of $10 million to date. The company, co-founded by CEO Sigal Clemenson-Kushnir and chairman Ronen Clemenson, leverages AI technology to accelerate the development of personalised cancer therapies.

Starget Pharma’s innovative platform combines diagnostic imaging with targeted radiotherapy to create a personalised treatment approach for advanced metastatic cancers. The platform’s AI-driven technology enables highly accurate radiation delivery to tumour cells, offering greater precision and a broader therapeutic range than traditional radiotherapy. This approach could advance cancer treatment by providing safer and more effective alternatives, particularly for patients with advanced cancers and limited treatment options.

CEO Sigal Clemenson-Kushnir said: “This investment highlights the potential of our radioligand-based technology to deliver safer and more effective treatments for complex cancers. We look forward to collaborating with MD Anderson in our upcoming clinical trial, where early studies have already demonstrated safety and strong tumour cell uptake. We believe our technology offers a significant alternative to existing therapies, particularly for patients facing advanced cancer with limited treatment options.”

Prof. Yitshak Kreiss, director general of Sheba Medical Center, commented: “The decision of a leading institution like MD Anderson to invest in Israeli medical innovation is yet another vote of confidence in our high-tech nation. It underscores the growing recognition that healthcare is a powerful engine of growth. Israel’s healthcare system has become a global hub for medical innovation, demonstrating time and again that our creativity, boldness, and excellence are reshaping the future of healthcare.”

Prof. Eyal Zimlichman, chief transformation and innovation officer at Sheba and director of ARC, said: “Starget Pharma’s solution is among a series of technologies from ARC that are spearheading a global healthcare revolution. We see this technology as a pivotal advancement in both the healthcare system and cancer treatment, enabling precise diagnosis and treatment of tumours such as sarcomas, neuroendocrine tumours, melanoma, and liver cancer. Based on the research to date, we have no doubt that this is a breakthrough technology that will be adopted by health systems worldwide.”