Oncorus, Inc., a Cambridge, MA-based new immuno-oncology company, completed a $57m Series A financing.
The round was led by MPM Capital (with equal contributions from MPM BV2014 and the Oncology Impact Fund), with participation from Deerfield Management, Arkin Bio Ventures, Celgene, Inc., Excelyrate Capital, Long March Investment Fund and MPM’s SunStates Fund.
Led by Mitchell H. Finer, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer, and Thomas W. Chalberg, Ph.D., Chief Operating Officer on an interim basis, Oncorus develops an immunotherapy platform of oncolytic viruses for the treatment of several tumor types including highly malignant and aggressive cancers such as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).
The company, which licensed certain patent rights from the University of Pittsburgh based upon the work of renowned scientists Joseph Glorioso III, Ph.D., and Paola Grandi, Ph.D., who will join Oncorus’s Scientific Advisory Board, intends to use the funds to advance its immunotherapy platform using its oncolytic herpes simplex virus (oHSV). Oncorus will invest in researching and developing oncolytic viral constructs which will move through preclinical development and ultimately into clinical trials. Currently, the company’s lead candidate is in preclinical development for GBM.
Beyond Dr. Finer, Oncorus’s Board of Directors includes:
– Luke Evnin, Ph.D., MPM Capital co-founder and Chairman,
– Briggs Morrison, CEO, Syndax;
– Cameron Wheeler, Ph.D., Principal, Deerfield Management; and,
– Alon Lazarus, Ph.D., Biotech Investment Manager, Arkin Bio Ventures.
FinSMEs
20/07/2016