Trevarx is building a DNA-directed alpha radiopharmaceutical platform designed to position radioactive decay at the tumor DNA repair complex. AlphaPARP, our first therapeutic application of the platform, is Astatine-211 covalently attached to a PARP inhibitor backbone (Parthanatine), designed to bind activated PARP1 at sites of tumor DNA damage. The therapeutic effect comes from DNA-proximal alpha energy deposition, not systemic PARP inhibitor pharmacology. The radiation fires where cancer cannot hide.
DNA-Directed Alpha RLT
$20M+ Non-Dilutive and Academic Collaborator Support
Seeking $35M Series A
Lutathera and Pluvicto proved that targeted radioactive payloads can find tumors and create clinical value. The category moved from beta to alpha for greater lethality, and strategic capital followed. Bristol Myers Squibb paid $4.1 billion for RayzeBio. AstraZeneca paid $2.0 billion for Fusion Pharmaceuticals. Eli Lilly paid $1.4 billion for POINT Biopharma. Novartis paid $1.8 billion for Mariana Oncology. All in the most recent acquisition wave.
Dominant target classes in the current RLT field — including PSMA, SSTR, FAP, and other cell-surface or non-DNA-localized targets — do not deliver alpha decay at tumor DNA. More than seventy radioligand therapies are now in development for solid tumors. Based on public pipeline mapping, AlphaPARP isthe only targeted alpha program built to target DNA that is on a path to an IND/Phase 1 trial.
BMS / RayzeBio
AZ / Fusion
Solid-Tumor RLTs in development
Targets the DNA
Every radioligand therapy is defined by three design choices: the targeting vector that finds the tumor, the isotope that delivers the radiation, and the delivery geometry — where radioactive decay actually occurs relative to DNA. Most programs have optimized the first two. Trevarx engineered the third.
Bound to DNA
AlphaPARP is designed to bind activated PARP1 at sites of tumor DNA damage, positioning Astatine-211 decay at the DNA repair complex rather than at the cell surface or in the cytoplasm.
UP TO 10× RELATIVE CYTOTOXICITY
A published localization study reported up to 10× higher relative cytotoxicity for DNA-localized alpha delivery versus cytoplasmic delivery in vitro. Clinical superiority remains to be established.
A DIFFERENT RACE
Actinium and lutecium programs require chelators and larger constructs that are not designed for intranuclear DNA delivery. Trevarx is pursuing a different delivery geometry.
AlphaPARP uses tracer-level PARPi exposure. Its therapeutic thesis is not systemic PARP inhibitor pharmacology, it is alpha energy deposited at the DNA. the AlphaPARP Explainer shows how DNA localization enables enables two physical damage mechanisms from a single Astatine-211 decay: recoil-associated DNA damage at the PARP1-DNA repair complex, and short-range alpha energy released inside the nucleus.
AlphaPARP is the first therapeutic application of Trevarx’s DNA-directed alpha platform. The first clinical focus is PARP1-positive relapsed or refractory ovarian cancer — a population where standard-of-care PARP inhibitors lose efficacy and there is no approved standard of care. PARPTrace, the PET imaging agent built on the same scaffold, supports the patient-selection bridge by helping confirm PARP1 target expression in candidate patients. Beyond ovarian cancer, the same DNA-directed strategy is designed to apply across other tumors where PARP is also important — prostate, breast, neuroblastoma — without requiring a new targeting molecule for each indication.
Trevarx is advancing AlphaPARP first in relapsed or refractory ovarian cancer, with PARPTrace-enabled selection for PARP1-positive tumors. Approximately seventy percent of patients who respond to maintenance PARP inhibitors eventually relapse. Once they do, there is no approved standard of care. Median overall survival is 13.2 months. Thirty-five women in the United States die from ovarian cancer every single day.
For these patients, AlphaPARP is designed to address a different biological condition than conventional PARP inhibitor therapy. Because the therapeutic thesis depends on DNA localization rather than BRCA/HRD synthetic lethality, AlphaPARP may remain relevant where tumors retain sufficient PARP1 target expression after PARP inhibitor resistance. PARPTrace is intended to support that patient-selection strategy.
U.S. Ovarian Cancer Patients per Year
Approved Standard of Care Post-PARPi Relapse
Trevarx is not entering first-in-human planning from zero-human-data uncertainty. PARPTrace, the PET imaging agent built on the same PARP-targeting scaffold as AlphaPARP, has been evaluated in more than three hundred patients across academic clinical imaging studies at four institutions.
PARPTrace does not establish AlphaPARP therapeutic efficacy. It provides a clinically imaged bridge for patient selection and translational development by showing where PARP1 target expression and biodistribution are present in humans. The program enters clinical planning with a target-informed patient-selection strategy rather than an unselected population.
Most targeted radioligand therapy programs are designed around extracellular or non-DNA-localized targets such as PSMA, SSTR, FAP, and related classes. Those programs ask which tumor marker to bind. Trevarx asks a different question: where should radioactive decay occur relative to tumor DNA? AlphaPARP is designed to bind to the DNA, using activated PARP1 at tumor DNA damage sites as the molecular address to position Astatine-211 decay on the DNA repair complex.
Trevarx brings together experienced operators, inventors, and clinical investigators who have taken radiopharmaceutical programs from development through FDA approval and commercial launch, invented the PARP1-targeted platform underlying AlphaPARP, and led nuclear medicine research at the University of Pennsylvania, Washington University in St.Louis, University of Washington, and MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Jean cho, MBA
ceo / founder
Company-building, business development, capital formation, and strategic partnerships. Former investment banker at Drexel Burnham Lambert and technology executive at Microsoft. Led negotiation of the exclusive worldwide platform licenses from Penn and WashU. Currently leading Trevarx’s $35M Series A financing.
David Mankoff, MD/PhD
CMO / Founder
Matthew J. Wilson Professor and Vice-Chair for Research of Radiology at the University of Pennsylvania. More than three hundred peer-reviewed publications. Former President of the American Board of Nuclear Medicine. Past Chair of the ECOG-ACRIN Experimental Imaging Science Committee.
Vivien Wong, PhD
CSO
Regulatory and radiopharmaceutical development leader. Former EVP of R&D at Progenics and Lantheus; led teams responsible for AZEDRA® and PYLARIFY® approvals and secured expedited FDA designations including Breakthrough Therapy, Fast Track, Priority Review, and Orphan Drug status.
Yakov Rotshteyn, PhD
Consultant: CMC & Clinical Pharm
Led development of the PET network for PYLARIFY®. Expertise in CMC, clinical pharmacology, and dosimetry from Progenics and Lantheus. Responsible for preclinical research underlying IND and NDA submissions for small-molecule therapeutics.
James Jordan, mba
Chief of Staff
Commercialized 150+ FDA-regulated products across J&J, McKesson, and three startups. Former venture capital investor with 93 investments. Active CPRIT cancer-research reviewer and board director.
Andrew Beck, mba
Consultant: Commercial Strategy
Former Senior Executive at Cardinal Health and Lantheus. Led or supported the introduction and growth of major radiopharmaceutical products including Cardiolite®, F-18 FDG, AZEDRA®, and PYLARIFY®.
Sally Schwarz
Consultant: Regulatory
Former President of SNMMI and internationally recognized expert in radiopharmacy, nuclear medicine practice, and regulatory strategy.
Trevarx is supported by a Scientific Advisory Board with expertise across PARP biology, DNA damage response, gynecologic oncology, nuclear medicine, PET imaging, Astatine-211 radiochemistry, translational biomarkers, and radiopharmaceutical development.
Robert Mach, PHD
Chairman of Scientific Advisory Board
Co-Founder of Trevarx and Inventor of [¹⁸F]FTT and [²¹¹At]PTT. Britton Chance Professor of Radiology and Director of the PET Radiochemistry Program at the University of Pennsylvania. Holds 27 patents on the development of PET-based radiopharmaceuticals.
Timothy Yap, PhD
Medical oncologist and physician-scientist at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Associate Professor in the Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics, Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, and Medical Director of the Institute for Applied Cancer Science. Expert in PARP inhibitors, HRD/DDR biology, and DDR-targeted therapies.
Roger Greenberg, PhD
J. Samuel Staub Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Director of Basic Science at the Basser Research Center for BRCA, and Director of the Penn Center for Genome Integrity. Recognized expert in PARP inhibitor cancer biology and DNA damage response.
Lilie Lin, MD
Radiation oncologist at MD Anderson Cancer Center specializing in gynecologic cancers, including ovarian cancer. Advises on clinical trial design and patient-management considerations for the ovarian cancer program.
Jeffrey Evelhoch, PhD
Former Vice President of Translational Biomarkers at Merck and Executive Director of Medical Sciences at Amgen. Brings senior translational biomarker and medical-science experience relevant to clinical development and pharma partnering.
Farrokh Dehdashti, MD
Senior Vice Chair and Division Director of Nuclear Medicine at Washington University in St.Louis, Co-Leader of the Oncologic Imaging Program, and Medical Director of the Center for Clinical Imaging Research. International leader in novel PET imaging clinical trials.
Scott Wilbur, PhD
Emeritus Professor at the University of Washington. Leading developer of reagents for molecular radiotherapy and pioneer in Astatine-211 radiotherapy development.
Suzanne Lapi, PhD
Vice Chair of Translational Research, Director of the Cyclotron Facility, Director of the Radiochemistry Laboratory, Division Director of Advanced Medical Imaging Research, and Co-Leader of the Experimental Therapeutics Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Expert in isotope production, radiochemistry, and translational imaging.
Trevarx is seeking a $35M Series A to advance AlphaPARP through IND-enabling work, first-in-human dosimetry, and Phase 1 dose escalation and expansion in relapsed or refractory ovarian cancer. If you are evaluating the next wave of targeted alpha radiopharmaceuticals, we would welcome the conversation.
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