On December 16, 2021 Anaveon, a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company, reported that it has agreed a CHF 110 million Series B financing led by incoming investor Forbion, corner-stoned by founding investor Syncona, also joined by existing investor Novartis Venture Fund, as well as new investors, Cowen Healthcare Investments (a division of Cowen Investment Management), Pfizer Ventures and Pontifax (Press release, Anaveon, DEC 16, 2021, View Source [SID1234597261]). In connection with the Series B financing, Jasper Bos (Forbion), Tim Anderson (Cowen) and Denis Patrick (Pfizer Ventures) will join the Anaveon Board at closing, which is expected before year end.
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Anaveon is undertaking a Phase I/II study to evaluate the safety, dosing and clinical activity of its lead program, ANV419, a powerful and selective interleukin-2 (IL-2) agonist in patients with solid tumors. Proceeds from this financing will enable the Company to pursue multiple parallel Phase II programs in order to explore the full therapeutic potential of ANV419. In addition, it will allow Anaveon to continue its work in developing follow-on compounds to expand on the success of ANV419 by delivering the IL-2 agonist to tumor fighting cells and thus expand the therapeutic potential into less immunogenic tumors. Additionally, the Company is building on its cytokine engineering expertise with preclinical-stage programs harnessing the power of cytokines for therapeutic purposes.
"There is strong momentum behind Anaveon and we are thrilled to welcome leading EU and US investors Forbion, Cowen Healthcare Investments, Pfizer Ventures and Pontifax to the Company. I would also like to personally thank our existing founding investors for their continued guidance and support to bring the company this far," said Andreas Katopodis, Co-Founder and Chief Executive of Anaveon. "With this fundraising we have made a clear statement about the scale and nature of our ambitions to bring cancer therapies rapidly to patients with a high unmet medical need, as well as leverage the experience of our in-house cytokine engineering experts to broaden our pipeline for the benefit of patients suffering from diseases with immune dysregulation pathologies."
"We continue to be very encouraged by Anaveon’s strong progress with its lead product, ANV419, as well as its future ambitions for expanding the pipeline," added Martin Murphy, Chief Executive of Syncona Investment Management Limited and Chairman of Anaveon’s Board. "The Company is seeking to develop engineered cytokines in multiple indications and draw on the deep expertise of the experienced team in order to deliver significant benefits to patients with limited therapeutic options."
Jasper Bos, General Partner at Forbion and Anaveon’s incoming Board Director, said, "We have been very impressed by the scientific co-founders, management team, board of directors, and vision of the Company, and we are excited to support Anaveon as they progress ANV419 through the clinic and grow the pipeline into new indications."
Anaveon, founded in December 2017, is developing selective IL-2 Receptor Agonists, which have the potential to therapeutically enhance a patient’s immune system to respond to tumors. In the body, human IL-2 stimulates a type of immune cell, called a T-cell, to multiply and become activated. Activated T-cells are able to attack tumors and, consistent with this approach, human IL-2 is already approved as a therapeutic for the treatment of metastatic melanoma and renal cancer; however, due to lack of specificity, human IL-2 has severe, dose-limiting side effects and a short half-life that requires frequent infusions. The lead compound, ANV419, is designed to preferentially signal through the IL-2 beta/gamma receptor and therefore overcome known challenges of human IL-2. This novel type of therapeutic, if approved, could potentially have a wide utility in oncology, including in combination with cell therapies, vaccines, checkpoint inhibitors and radiotherapy.