US-based immuno-oncology company Oncorus has increased the size of its series A round to $61m after securing funding from Astellas Venture Management, the corporate venturing arm of pharmaceutical firm Astellas.
The $4m investment by Astellas was added to the $57m Oncorus raised from investors including pharmaceutical company Celgene in July this year. Venture capital firm MPM Capital led the round, investing out of its MPM BV2014 fund and Oncology Impact Fund, the latter of which is also backed by bank UBS.
MPM’s SunStates Fund also contributed to the first tranche, as did Deerfield Management, Arkin Bio Ventures, Excelyrate Capital and Long March Investment Fund.
Oncorus is developing oncolytic viruses based on its immunotherapy platform to combat highly malignant and aggressive cancers. It will use the financing to advance its platform, which uses an oncolytic herpes simplex virus.
Shunichiro Matsumoto, president of Astellas Venture Management, said: “Oncorus’s next-generation immunotherapy platform of oncolytic viruses could become a new paradigm in cancer treatment.
“We are excited to partner with this leading group of investors to support this experienced management team and group of world-class researchers in this endeavour.”