Sensei Biotherapeutics saw a dramatic market reaction Wednesday after revealing an agreement to acquire Faeth Therapeutics and the closing of a private financing that raised approximately $200 million in gross proceeds.
The transaction adds Faeth’s lead asset, PIKTOR, to Sensei’s development roster. PIKTOR is described as an investigational, all-oral combination therapy designed to suppress multiple nodes of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling axis by targeting PI3K-alpha together with dual mTORC1/2 inhibition.
Alongside the acquisition, Sensei completed a private placement of Series B non-voting convertible preferred stock that generated about $200 million in gross proceeds. The financing drew commitments from a group of institutional investors including B Group Capital, Balyasny Asset Management, Columbia Threadneedle Investments and Cormorant Asset Management.
The company said the principal use of the funds will be to advance PIKTOR through key clinical milestones. Specifically, Sensei highlighted plans to pursue topline data from an ongoing Phase 2 study in second-line advanced endometrial cancer and to initiate a Phase 1b trial in HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer. Both of those milestones are expected by year-end 2026.
“In the PI3K pathway, the field has repeatedly run into the same constraint. Single-node inhibitors force a tradeoff between efficacy and tolerability,” said Anand Parikh, Co-founder of Faeth Therapeutics and now Chief Operating Officer and director at Sensei. “PIKTOR is designed to change that tradeoff by inhibiting PI3K-alpha and mTORC1/2 simultaneously, and we believe we can achieve more complete pathway suppression with improved tolerability.”
Sensei also indicated that the remainder of the proceeds will be allocated to general corporate purposes and to complete its ongoing Phase 1/2 trial of solnerstotug.
The market response to the combined strategic and financing announcement was immediate and large in magnitude, with Sensei’s shares rising 200% on the day of the filing.
What this means
- PIKTOR’s addition provides Sensei with a late-stage investigational asset focused on inhibiting multiple nodes within the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway.
- The private placement brings a significant capital infusion intended to fund the near-term clinical agenda for PIKTOR through the end of 2026.
- Investors that participated in the financing include several institutional asset managers and healthcare-focused funds.