On December 7, 2021 ATP (Apple Tree Partners), a leader in life sciences venture capital, reported the launch of Adendra Therapeutics Ltd. ("Adendra"), a company that will discover and develop treatments for cancers and autoimmune diseases by applying new insights into regulation of adaptive immune responses by dendritic cells (Press release, ATP, DEC 7, 2021, View Source [SID1234596533]). Adendra is funded with a $53 (£40) million Series A investment from ATP and founded by ATP as a spin-out of breakthrough biology conducted at the Francis Crick Institute in London in the lab of immunologist Caetano Reis e Sousa, D.Phil., whose research on ways in which dendritic cells orchestrate immune responses to cell death has been published in leading scientific journals.
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Adendra’s proprietary technology is based on the work of Professor Caetano Reis e Sousa’s Immunobiology Laboratory at The Francis Crick Institute in collaboration with Raj Mehta, Ph.D., an Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) at ATP who has previously founded and led companies including GammaDelta Therapeutics (recently acquired by Takeda) and Revitope Oncology. Adendra aims to design and develop novel immunotherapies focused on modulation of dendritic and other immune cells to augment immunological control of cancer or curtail T cell-driven autoimmunity.
"We are delighted to partner with Caetano and the Francis Crick Institute to form Adendra, to translate their pioneering work in dendritic cell biology into novel therapeutics," said Dr. Mehta, ATP EIR and Adendra co-founder and Chief Executive Officer. "Building on the leading scientific knowledge and expertise coming from Caetano’s lab and applying ATP’s capabilities in therapeutics development and life sciences strategy and operations, Adendra is uniquely positioned to improve the current treatment paradigm in cancer and other diseases."
"I am delighted to have the backing of ATP to enable the clinical translation of research in the field of innate immune recognition of dead cells and am excited about the prospect of offering meaningful clinical benefit to patients suffering from cancer or autoimmune diseases," said Professor Reis e Sousa, Adendra co-founder and Senior Group Leader and Assistant Research Director at the Francis Crick Institute.
Adendra will use proceeds from the financing to generate developmental candidates for new molecular and biological therapeutics against solid cancers and T cell-based autoimmune disorders. Beyond these areas of focus, Adendra welcomes approaches from potential research partners interested in accessing the company’s specialized capabilities and tools to address other urgent unmet medical needs.
"Adendra exemplifies ATP’s model of creating and building companies through ongoing partnership with leading scientific experts to develop first- and best-in-class therapies," said Seth Harrison, M.D., ATP founder and managing partner. "We are pleased to launch ATP’s first UK-based enterprise, we anticipate more transformational ventures emerging from our scientific collaborations in the UK and Europe, and we look forward to establishing Adendra at the forefront of the next leading wave of immune-oncology and immunotherapy companies."
In conjunction with the Series A, Professor Reis e Sousa and Drs. Mehta and Harrison have joined the Adendra Board of Directors, along with Raj Chopra, M.D., Ph.D., ATP’s Head of Oncology who is also a venture partner at the firm. Donna Hackett, Head of Commercial Translation at the Francis Crick Institute, is a Board Observer