invIOs GmbH, a Vienna, Austria-based biotechnology company developing novel therapies for cancer, raised €8.2m in Series A funding.
Backers included existing shareholders and Ligand Pharmaceuticals, which recently acquired APEIRON, the former parent company of invIOs.
This funding secures ongoing pipeline progress and achievement of clinical and preclinical milestones through 2025.
Led by Peter Llewellyn-Davies, CEO & CFO, and Romana Gugenberger, PhD, Chief Medical and Scientific Officer, invIOs is a biotech company focusing on the discovery and development of novel therapies for cancer. The team leverages deep expertise in immune system activation to develop individualized and targeted approaches against solid tumors. invIOs is advancing a pipeline of programs encompassing small molecule and cell therapy approaches.
INV501 is a novel small molecule candidate that can selectively enhance T cell mediated anti-tumor immune responses. INV501 is currently in preclinical testing and has demonstrated preclinical proof of concept with strong data in multiple solid tumor indications after oral administration. A lead candidate compound for clinical development has been selected, and IND-enabling studies are ongoing.
EPiC, invIOs’ proprietary cell therapy platform, enables rapid treatment of patients in an out-patient setting. EPiC is a technology platform that allows the creation of personalized cell therapies based on localized processing of a patient’s fresh immune cells. Proof of concept has been demonstrated via initial clinical results from the first asset from the EPiC platform, APN401. INV441, also derived from EPiC, is being developed for the treatment of glioblastoma and is in preclinical testing. invIOs has a collaboration with the DFCI for this program. Another EPiC program, INV451, is a novel CAR-T cell approach against lung cancer being developed with the Medical University of Innsbruck.
The company has collaborations in glioblastoma with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) for both programs. The collaborations are being led by David Reardon, MD, Clinical Director, Center for Neuro-Oncology at the DFCI and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Reardon is a world-renowned expert in brain cancer, particularly glioblastoma research and treatment.
FinSMEs
15/10/2024