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ImmunOs Therapeutics AG, a biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases, has announced the closing of an oversubscribed Series B financing round totaling $74M.
The round was led by new investors Samsara BioCapital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Gimv, and joined by other new investors Mission BioCapital, GL Capital, PEAK6 Strategic Capital, and Fiscus Financial. Existing investors taking part were Pfizer Ventures, BioMed Partners, and Schroder Adveq.
The funding will be used for the clinical development of ImmunOs’ lead program, IOS-1002 (formerly iosH2), through Phase 2 clinical trials. It will also support additional oncology and autoimmune disease programs within the company ́s HLA-based pipeline towards clinical development.
IOS-1002 is a multi-functional agent based on a naturally-occurring human leukocyte antigen (HLA) that leads to anti-tumor activity.
A Phase 1 clinical trial is planned to start in the second half of 2022.
Additionally, Switzerland-based ImmunOs has established a U.S. subsidiary to further expand its international reach, run future U.S. clinical trials, and strengthen its transatlantic operations and team.
Sean R. Smith, CEO of ImmunOs Therapeutics, said: “The raise underlines our promising, first-in-class immunotherapy approach for the treatment of both solid and liquid tumors. The funding allows us to advance our lead program, IOS-1002, into clinical trials, expand our pipeline in oncology and autoimmune disease, and strengthen our transatlantic operations. We are honored that renowned investors such as Samsara, Lightspeed, Gimv, Mission BioCapital, GL Capital, PEAK6, and Fiscus have joined our investor base.”
Marcos Milla, venture partner at Samsara, will be joining the ImmunOs Therapeutics board, along with Shelley Chu, partner at Lightspeed; and Andreas Jurgeit, partner at Gimv.
Milla said, “Myeloid checkpoint therapeutics are potentially the next major breakthrough in immuno-oncology, and we believe ImmunOs Therapeutics will contribute exciting medicines in this rapidly evolving field to help patients suffering from cancer.”
HLA molecules
ImmunOs Therapeutics has identified specific HLA molecules known to activate the immune system and is utilizing these HLA molecules as the backbone of novel therapies capable of stimulating both the innate and the adaptive immune systems of cancer patients to eliminate tumor cells.
The company is also developing antibodies to block the activation of specific HLA protein molecules associated with autoimmune diseases.
Last November, the company presented data it said showed IOS-1002 restores immune effector cell function and results in measurable anti-tumor activity.
Osiris Marroquin Belaunzaran, co-founder and chief scientific officer of ImmunOs Therapeutics said: “IOS-1002 is a multi-tasking agent boosting the anti-tumor response of human macrophages, T cells, and NK cells via inhibiting three innate checkpoint receptors in parallel. Its unique and powerful mechanism of action activates both the innate and the adaptive immune systems and addresses solid tumors as well as blood cancers. We now have an excellent data package for advancing the program into clinical development.”
Cover image: Shutterstock
