On May 31, 2023 LTZ Therapeutics – an immunotherapy-focused biotech company – reported it has raised over $10 million in pre-A+ financing led by Qiming Venture Partners, with co-investor participation from Shunwei Capital, Lihehongxin Venture Capital Partnership and K2 Venture Partners (Press release, LTZ Therapeutics, MAY 31, 2023, View Source [SID1234632312]). The closing of this round brings LTZ’s total funding to approximately $30 million since the company was founded in 2022. The proceeds from this round of funding will be used to continue establishing the company’s platform and pipeline and building LTZ’s global operations team.
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"LTZ has made significant progress, both scientifically and operationally, since it was established last year," said Robert Li, Ph.D., Co-Founder and CEO of LTZ. "We plan to capitalize on our progress by advancing the company’s lead molecule to its first in-human clinical trial in early 2024, completing preclinical validation work of our Innate Engager Platform and continuing to advance other molecules in the company’s portfolio and build our global team. Furthermore, we’re grateful for our scientific team and advisory board as well as the support from our syndicate of investors who acknowledge the exceptional value of our platform and pipeline."
With the addition of three new members, there is now a total of six scientific board members. Joining Sarah Hymowitz, Ph.D.; Greg Cosma, Ph.D. and Lukas Amler, Ph.D., new members include Lillian L Siu, M.D.; Stephen Beers, Ph.D. and Hiroyoshi Nishikawa, M.D., Ph.D.
"LTZ’s strategy to develop a novel Innate Engager Platform for both hematological malignancy and solid tumors as well as its preclinical validation work of selected constructs is extremely promising. This approach could have profound impact on the future of immunotherapy development in China and globally," said Kan Chen, Ph.D., Partner at Qiming Venture Partners.
Additionally, external research collaborations with top-tier cancer hospitals have also been established to support the company’s reverse translational studies – to better understand the cancer biology and immunology in tumor microenvironment.
"The LTZ team is taking a next-generation immunotherapy approach in treating cancer and autoimmune diseases, where there’s a high unmet need," said Rui Li, Partner at Shunwei Capital. "We’re excited about LTZ’s strong leadership and look forward to supporting the company as they develop novel therapies that have the potential to positively impact human health."
About the Science
LTZ is focused on leveraging the power of innate immunity (e.g., macrophages) and elimination of immunosuppression (e.g.,T regulatory cells, cancer-associated fibroblasts) as these areas have been shown to offer tremendous potential for developing innovative and effective therapies. Specifically, LTZ is developing its own novel Innate Engager Platform to effectively activate macrophages in addition to natural killing (NK) cells as effectors to deliver direct anti-tumor and anti-immunosuppressive cell killing as well as promote inflammation in the tumor microenvironment – indirectly resulting in activated adaptive immunity and long-term memory.