US-based immuno-oncology therapy developer Tallac Therapeutics emerged from stealth today with $62m in series A funding from investors including pharmaceutical firm Merck & Co’s MRL Ventures Fund.
Life sciences investment firm VenBio Partners and venture capital firms Lightstone Ventures, Matrix Partners China and 5Y Capital (previously known as Morningside Venture Capital) also contributed to the close of the round.
Founded in 2018, Tallac is developing immunotherapies known as Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists to fight cancer.
TLP agonists can trigger both innate and adaptive responses from the immune system, in theory leading to more long-lasting anti-cancer immunity that can overcome resistance from tumours.
The series A funds will support the progress of Tallac’s lead preclinical product candidate, a myeloid checkpoint inhibitor dubbed ALX148 which is being developed for multiple tumour indications. The startup’s co-founder and chairman, Corey Goodman, is also a managing partner at VenBio.
Goodman said: “Tallac has developed a scientifically innovative technology platform to create potent, systemically delivered therapeutics with the potential to provide powerful innate and adaptive anti-tumour immunity across multiple tumour types.
“We are pleased to see the progress made by the team during the seed stage and look forward to supporting Tallac as they advance their pipeline towards the clinic.”
