On July 16, 2020 Imvax, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company whose groundbreaking personalized neo-antigen immunotherapy, IGV-001, is being studied in patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), and whose proprietary technology has the potential to advance care for patients with serious, unmet medical needs in other solid tumor cancers, reported the completion of a $112 million Series C financing (Press release, Imvax, JUL 16, 2020, View Source [SID1234562024]). The round was led by existing investor HP WILD Holding AG, with significant participation from other major shareholders – Ziff Capital Partners, Magnetar Capital, and TLP Investment Partners. This round also includes participation from a new institutional investor – Invus.
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The financing will enable Imvax to continue clinical development of lead product candidate IGV-001 for treatment of GBM through Phase 2. IGV-001 is a autologous tumor vaccine made from patients’ tumor cells combined with an antisense molecule to affect a personalized immune response.
Interim results from the Phase 1b trial, which were presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) in 2019, demonstrated treatment with IGV-001 outperformed standard of care with prolonged overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with newly diagnosed GBM. Final results from this trial completed in May of this year confirm the benefit of IGV-001. The company anticipates initiating a Phase 2 trial with IGV-001 in newly diagnosed patients with GBM in early 2021.
The financing will also enable Imvax to broaden the development portfolio into additional oncology therapeutic indications. The team is planning to continue pre-clinical work with a target to start additional solid tumor indications in Phase 1 trials during 2021.
The company will also expand its corporate and manufacturing capabilities.
"We are pleased to receive strong support from our existing and new investors who are aligned with Imvax’s mission to transform the current treatment regimen for glioblastoma and potentially other solid tumor cancers with a unique approach that focuses on long term survival," said Peter B. Corr, Ph.D., Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board of Imvax, inc.
John Furey, Imvax CEO said, "The tremendous response to this round of fundraising reflects the promising results from our Phase 1b trial in glioblastoma which validate the potential of IGV-001 to be a life-changing therapy for patients with malignant gliomas. This funding positions us to advance IGV-001 through the next stage of clinical development in glioblastoma, explore other solid tumor indications, and start the build out of additional capabilities needed to operationalize our unique approach to delivering this therapy. We look forward to creating additional value for our stakeholders and ultimately delivering on our goal of improving outcomes for people living with devastating and intractable solid tumor cancers."
Furey added that Phase 1b clinical study data are compelling, avoiding any off-target effect or cytokine storm issues and demonstrating significant OS and PFS benefit in the patient cohort vs. historical controls with the highest doses of four being taken into the upcoming Phase 2 trial.