UK-based oncology technology developer Oxford Vacmedix (OVM) closed a £9m ($12.5m) series A round today featuring molecular diagnostics technology producer Cancer Rop and unnamed existing shareholders based in China.
Founded in 2012, Oxford Vacmedix has created a platform to develop cancer vaccines and diagnostic tools by exploiting recombinant overlapping peptides (ROP), which stimulate T cell immunity. T cells are a natural part of the human system and an important basis for immunotherapy.
OVM is based on research led by Shisong Jiang in University of Oxford’s Department of Oncology, in partnership with Medical Research Council’s Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine.
The funding will allow the company to conclude preclinical development and advance two lead vaccines, OVM-100 and OVM-200, into phase 1 clinical trials. OVM-100 is aimed at cervical cancer, while OVM-200 targets solid tumours.
The company will also continue development of its diagnostic tools. It had reportedly raised £1m ($1.4m) in seed funding prior to the series A round, though details of that funding could not be confirmed.
William Finch, chief executive of OVM, said: “This investment will allow OVM’s cancer vaccines to be progressed to important clinical milestones both to benefit patients and to return significant shareholder value.
“We have already licensed our technology into Chinese market and we are also looking forward to collaborating with Cancer Rop on the development of our vaccines in the Republic of Korea.”
– The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.