RBCx features AmacaThera’s journey

RBCx, the tech banking and investment arm of the Royal Bank of Canada, has featured AmacaThera’s drug development platform and start-up journey.

• Read the full AmacaThera profile on RBCx​.com.

The article includes interviews with Co-Founders, CEO Mike J. Cooke and Chief Science Officer Molly Shoichet, and covers both the original research behind the company, led by Shoichet’s lab at the University of Toronto, and the team’s progress in bringing AMT-143 to market.

In May 2024, AmacaThera announced that the first human subject had been dosed with AMT-143, the company’s lead asset in non-opioid acute pain management. This news followed the closing of AmacaThera’s successful Series A extension round of $4 million CAD in November 2023.

Here’s an excerpt:

“It’s been so exciting to see our research invention of AmacaGel be the basis of AmacaThera and now to see it applied in people,” Shoichet says. ​“Our goal is to make products that will make a difference in people’s lives. With our first product, we aim to both alleviate pain and put a dent in the opioid crisis, thereby filling unmet medical and societal needs.”

Moreover, Cooke explains, its efficacy in controlling pain not only fosters optimal healing, but the downstream effect may be a boon to our struggling health system. ​“If you have that rapid pain control, you’ll get better recovery. You can get people out of the hospital quicker and by reducing their length of stay, you can increase hospital capacity, and serve more patients. These are huge drivers and we’re building the company with that mentality of efficacy and efficiency.”

RBCx supports AmacaThera’s day-to-day banking needs, and has since the company was founded.

About AmacaThera

AmacaThera is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a novel drug delivery platform to improve patient outcomes across multiple therapeutic areas, including post‑surgical pain management, cancer and other hard‑to‑reach target areas.

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