Wisconsin radiopharmaceuticals company Cellectar raises $2.7M for cancer treatments

MADISON, Wisconsin — Cellectar Inc. has raised $2.7 million for its radiopharmaceutical technology that treats and detects a variety of cancers, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Cellectar’s lead compound, called CLR1404, is currently in Phase 1 clinical trials for cancer treatment. In preclinical studies, the molecule has been accepted and retained in 45 types of solid tumors, according to Neal Sandy, Cellectar’s chief operating officer.

The company’s immediate goals center on continuing to progress through clinical trials. Cellectar is not at a point that it needs to decide what type of cancer it is going to target in its first drug commercialization, Sandy said.

Based on its previous fundraising, Cellectar appears to be among Wisconsin’s most promising health care start-ups. The company raised $13 million in early 2008 to fund operations, as well as its Phase 1 trial, Wisconsin Technology News reported.

That round was led by Venture Investors LLC, which has offices in Madison and Ann Arbor, Mich. John Neis, a managing director with Venture Investors who leads the firm’s health care practice, joined Cellectar’s board after the deal. Neis’ voicemail message said he was out of the country and he didn’t immediately return an e-mail.

In 2007, the company raised $7 million, an amount that was called the largest angel round in Wisconsin history.

The company’s radiopharmaceutical technology works by using a radioactive isotope to attach to and kill a cancerous tumor. The drug, which is injected into a patient’s body, doesn’t attach to healthy tissues.

The company’s technology is based on research conducted at the University of Michigan and University of Wisconsin.

The $2.7 million funding comes in the form of debt, options or warrants. The company has no revenue, according to the SEC filing.