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- Tuesday, December 10, 2019 @ 12:00 am
ImmunOs Therapeutics AG, a Swiss biotechnology company and leading developer of a next generation innate immunity focused immunotherapy platform for cancer, announced today the closing of a Series A financing of CHF 15 million. The round was co-led by the Basel life sciences venture capital firm BioMedPartners and Pfizer Ventures, the venture capital arm of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), with the participation of Redalpine, Schroder Adveq, Wille Finance AG, BERNINA BioInvest Ltd alongside new private and existing investors. The financing will be used to complete the first-in-human trials with the company’s lead agent, iosH2, a potential new cancer treatment for both solid and liquid tumors. The funding will also be used to broaden the company’s novel immunotherapy iosH platform by advancing additional preclinical programs focusing on both cancer and auto-immunity.
“Recent advances in the understanding of the innate immune system’s role in cancer provide a unique opportunity for ImmunOs Therapeutics and our partners. We value the ongoing support of all the current investors and welcome all the Series A round participants, specifically Pfizer Ventures and BioMedPartners, both of whom have demonstrated a strong commitment to the oncology field,” said Sean R. Smith, CEO of ImmunOs Therapeutics AG.
Dr. Osiris Marroquin Belaunzaran, CSO and co-founder, added: “It is with great pleasure to see that our early research based on HLA open conformer modulation of immune cells is advancing toward a clinical drug candidate for human studies. Targeting the innate immune system to modulate the tumor microenvironment has been a key strategy for ImmunOs, and together with foundational approaches targeting the adaptive immune system such as PD-1 antibodies, we aim to produce a strong therapeutic benefit in difficult-to-treat cancer indications."
In conjunction with the financing, ImmunOs Therapeutics has expanded its Board of Directors to include four new members: Dr. Markus Hosang of BioMedPartners; Dr. Michael Baran of Pfizer Inc.; Dr. Reinhard Ambros, former head Novartis Venture Fund; and Dr. Daniel Vasella, former Chairman and CEO Novartis.
Dr. Markus Hosang noted: “At BioMedPartners, we have over the last 15 years very successfully invested in and brought forward several innovative early-stage cancer companies. We got particularly attracted by ImmunOs and its novel approach that also adds to existing treatment modalities and thus has the potential to provide novel medicines to cancer patients who do not obtain a long-term benefit from current therapies.”
Dr. Michael Baran added: “Advances in understanding the role of the innate immune system is opening up opportunities to expand the potential of cancer immunotherapy. Pfizer Ventures is enthusiastic to support this emerging area through our investment in ImmunOs.”
