In a Melbourne lab, a group of clinicians and scientists is trying to build a more precise kind of warhead. Their target is not a battlefield, but the 1.5 million people diagnosed with prostate cancer globally each year [Drug Discovery World, October 2026]. Their weapon of choice is a radioactive molecule, engineered to seek out cancer cells and deliver a lethal dose of radiation directly to the tumour while sparing the surrounding healthy tissue.
This is the foundational bet of Skopos Bio, a preclinical radiopharmaceutical startup that spun out of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in 2024 and launched publicly in October 2026 with an AUD $12 million (approximately US $8.4 million) seed round [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief]. The company represents a growing wave of biotechs exploring theranostics, a dual approach that uses a radioactive tracer for imaging and a similar, more potent radioactive payload for treatment. For patients whose cancers have stopped responding to standard therapies, the promise is a targeted attack with fewer systemic side effects.
The Clinical Team as a Foundational Wedge
What sets Skopos apart at this early stage is not a published clinical result, but the depth and specificity of its founding team. The company was formed by three leading researchers from Peter Mac, each bringing a critical piece of the radiopharmaceutical puzzle to the venture.
- Professor Michael Hofman is a nuclear-medicine physician and the director of Peter Mac’s Prostate Theranostics and Imaging Centre of Excellence (ProsTIC). His work has attracted more than $65 million in active grants [Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre].
- Associate Professor Mohammad “Mo” Haskali is the centre’s inaugural Chief Radiopharmaceutical Scientist, a radiochemist responsible for the design and synthesis of the radioactive compounds themselves [Drug Discovery World, October 2026].
- Associate Professor Luc Furic heads Translational Prostate Cancer Research at Peter Mac, bringing over 15 years of experience in identifying and validating novel biological targets for prostate cancer [The University of Melbourne].
This triad covers the full spectrum from target discovery and compound chemistry to clinical application. It is a team built not in a venture studio, but over decades at the bench and the bedside. Their collective focus gives Skopos a narrow, deep initial wedge into prostate cancer, a disease state they understand intimately.
The Capital and Its Strategic Backers
The seed financing, advised by EM Advisory, signals more than just available runway [EM Advisory, October 2026]. The investor syndicate brings strategic heft and specific domain interest to the table.
| Investor | Notable Connection |
|---|---|
| Tenmile | Andrew Forrest’s health-investment vehicle. |
| Tin Alley Ventures | Associated with John Wylie and University of Melbourne commercialization. |
| Yosemite | The venture firm founded by Reed Jobs, son of Steve Jobs, which has shown a consistent focus on life sciences [CB Insights]. |
The company has also appointed Jeevan Virk, a former Novartis vice president who led strategy for radioligand therapy, as its chair [CB Insights]. This move plugs a crucial commercial and regulatory experience gap into the otherwise academically-heavy leadership, a common and necessary step for a biotech aiming for clinical trials and, eventually, FDA or EMA approvals.
The Long Road From Preclinical to Clinic
The capital is earmarked for research and development to advance Skopos’s platform toward human clinical trials [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief]. This is where the real work, and the real risk, begins. The company is entering a field that, while promising, is also becoming increasingly competitive. Large pharmaceutical companies like Novartis have already commercialized radiopharmaceuticals, and a host of biotech competitors are pursuing similar theranostic approaches.
The most credible near-term risk for Skopos is the sheer difficulty of translational science. Moving from validated targets and promising compounds in a lab to a safe and effective therapy in humans is a multi-year, capital-intensive process with a high historical failure rate. The company’s initial focus on prostate cancer is a strength, but it also means its fate is tied to the success of its lead program. Any significant toxicity or lack of efficacy in future trials would be a major setback.
Skopos’s most plausible answer to this risk is its institutional origin. Being embedded within Peter Mac provides not just the founding team’s expertise, but also potential access to clinical infrastructure and patient populations for future studies. The close collaboration between discovery and clinical practice could streamline the notoriously difficult path from bench to bedside.
What Standard of Care Looks Like Today
For the patient population Skopos is initially targeting, the current landscape is defined by incremental advances and difficult choices. Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), a late-stage form of the disease, has seen new treatments emerge, including chemotherapy, hormone therapies, and immunotherapies. However, these often come with significant side effects and diminishing returns over time.
The theranostic approach Skopos is pursuing represents a potential paradigm shift, moving from systemic bombardment to a targeted strike. The standard of care today does not routinely include such personalised radioactive treatments. If successful, Skopos’s technology could offer a new line of defense for patients who have exhausted other options, a prospect that justifies the long odds and patient capital required in biotech.
The next twelve months for Skopos will be defined by quiet, foundational work. The team will be focused on selecting a lead candidate, conducting the necessary toxicology and manufacturing studies, and preparing an investigational new drug (IND) application to regulators. The real milestone to watch for is the filing of that IND, the formal request to begin testing in humans. Until then, the company’s progress will be measured in data points, not patient outcomes. For the team in Melbourne, and for the investors betting on them, the hope is that those data points will eventually add up to a new kind of hope for a very old disease.
Sources
- [Drug Discovery World, October 2026] Melbourne radiopharmaceuticals spinout launches with AUD$12 million | https://www.ddw-online.com/melbourne-radiopharmaceuticals-spinout-launches-with-aud$12-million-44050-202610/
- [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief] Skopos Bio company brief
- [Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre] Michael Hofman profile | https://www.petermac.org
- [EM Advisory, October 2026] EM Advisory advises oncology startup Skopos Bio on seed funding round | https://www.consultancy.com.au/news/amp/12889/em-advises-oncology-startup-skopos-bio-on-seed-funding-round
- [CB Insights] Yosemite portfolio | https://www.cbinsights.com/investor/yosemite
- [The University of Melbourne] Luc Furic profile
- [AFR, October 2026] Melbourne cancer start-up Skopos Bio secures $12 million from Andrew Forrest, John Wylie and Reed Jobs | https://www.afr.com/companies/healthcare-and-fitness/forrest-wylie-back-melbourne-cancer-start-up-in-12m-seed-round-20260930-p611ji