Unum Therapeutics, a Cambridge, MA-based company developing cellular immunotherapy to treat cancer, raised $12m in Series A funding.
The round was led by Fidelity Biosciences and Atlas Venture, with participation from Sanofi-Genzyme BioVentures.
The company plans to use the capital to advance its lead candidate through initial proof-of-concept clinical studies, further enhance the ACTR technology, and establish partnerships to access tumor-specific antibodies for a pipeline of novel combination therapies.
Led by Dario Campana, MD, PhD, Scientific Founder, Seth Ettenberg, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, and Charles “Chuck” Wilson, PhD, President & CEO, Unum has built a platform for cancer treatment based upon an antibody-coupled T-cell receptor (ACTR). Genetically programming T-cells with ACTR allows them to attack and kill tumor cells using targeting antibodies. In contrast to other approaches that are limited to a single target and treat a narrow set of tumors, the company’s approach is not restricted by antigen and may have applications for treating many types of cancers.
Its lead program, based on its Antibody-Coupled T-cell Receptor (ACTR) technology, is expected to enter Phase I clinical testing in the coming months to assess safety and efficacy.
The initial Board of Directors of Unum is comprised of:
Chuck Wilson, PhD, President & CEO, Unum Therapeutics
Ben Auspitz, Partner, Fidelity Biosciences
Bruce Booth, DPhil, Partner, Atlas Venture
FinSMEs
21/10/2014