US-based immuno-oncology therapy developer Elicio Therapeutics closed a $33m series B round on Wednesday, naming pharmaceutical group Livzon among its investors.
The company said investment firm Clal Biotechnology Industries and life sciences-focused venture capital firm Efung Capital are also part of its investor base, without confirming their participation in the latest round.
Elicio is developing cancer immunotherapies aimed at the lymph node, utilising its propietary Amphiphile platform, which allows immunogens and cell-therapy activators to be accurately targeted and delivered.
The series B proceeds will go to advancing a range of product candidates including ELI-002, a vaccine aimed at the seven mutations in the KRAS gene which can lead to the development of cancer.
Robert Connelly, Elicio’s CEO, said: “We believe ELI-002 can become a universal mKRAS (mutant KRAS) vaccine with the potential to treat and prevent disease recurrence for hundreds of thousands of patients with mKRAS-driven cancers, including pancreatic, colorectal and lung cancer.
“This new funding is a strong endorsement of this program, the Amphiphile platform and our progress.”
The company launched in March this year with $30m from undisclosed investors. Its technology is based on work by Darrell Irvine, a professor of biological engineering and materials sciences at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
