· Existing investors and new investor Double Point Ventures join forces to support ImmunOs Therapeutics
· Investment secures funding of ongoing promising clinical trial of IOS-1002 in solid cancers
ImmunOs Therapeutics AG, a biopharmaceutical company leveraging its unique immune system modulating HLA-based technology platform to develop first-in-class therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases, today announced the closing of a Series C financing round of $11 million. The round was led by existing investors Gimv, Pfizer Ventures, Mission BioCapital, BioMed Partners and supported by new investor Double Point Ventures as well as other existing investors. In conjunction with the round, Steve Tregay, PhD, Managing General Partner of Mission BioCapital, has joined the Company’s Board of Directors.
Proceeds from the Series C will be used to further fund the ongoing clinical trial of ImmunOs’ lead program IOS-1002 to completion of the Phase Ia dose escalation clinical trial as a monotherapy and in combination with MSD’s (Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA) anti-PD-1 therapy KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab). IOS-1002 is a novel, multifunctional immunotherapy agent for the treatment of advanced solid tumors that simultaneously targets several immune checkpoints. It is based on a naturally occurring human leukocyte antigen (HLA) targeting LILRB1 (ILT2), LILRB2 (ILT4), and KIR3DL1 and designed to activate both innate and adaptive immune cells to modulate the tumor microenvironment, potentially also enhancing the effectiveness of existing IO treatments such as KEYTRUDA.
"We are delighted to close this important financing round with existing and new investors," said Reinhard Ambros, Executive Chairman of the Board of ImmunOs Therapeutics. "The raise underlines the high interest in this space and potentially highly relevant therapeutic option of our well-differentiated lead program. The funding allows us to proceed with our lead program IOS-1002 as monotherapy and in combination with KEYTRUDA. IOS-1002 is the most advanced HLA-based program worldwide addressing these relevant targets and offering such a novel, multifunctional immunotherapy approach.”
“We are excited to invest in ImmunOs Therapeutics with its large potential as a first-in-class immunotherapy approach for the treatment of both solid and liquid tumors,” Campbell Murray, Advisor at Double Point Ventures said. “We look forward to supporting ImmunOs’ success.”
“We believe that ImmunOs Therapeutics’ unique platform is well-positioned to deliver potential innovative approaches in inflammatory diseases and immuno-oncology,” Michael Baran, Partner at Pfizer Ventures added. “We look forward to the opportunity to review clinical data potentially in 2025.”
“The Company is well differentiated to exploit its potentially first-in-class immunotherapy for the benefit of patients with limited therapeutic options. ImmunOs’ approach of identifying HLA molecules with naturally tailored affinity and specificity profiles is not just elegant but also truly differentiated,” stated Andreas Jurgeit, PhD, Partner at Gimv. “We are extremely excited by the progress being made at ImmunOs and proud to support the team further towards clinical validation for the benefit of patients.”
“ImmunOs Therapeutics has a very innovative approach to target myeloid checkpoints which are potentially the next major breakthrough in immuno-oncology,” said Steve Tregay, Managing General Partner at Mission BioCapital. “We look forward to enable more exciting data from the clinical trials of IOS-1002.”
ImmunOs Therapeutics is committed to advancing the clinical development of IOS-1002 and exploring its potential to improve the lives of cancer patients.
KEYTRUDA is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA.