US-based immuno-oncology therapy developer Geneos Therapeutics has completed a $10.5m series A round that included biotechnology company Inovio Pharmaceuticals.
Venture capital firm Santé Ventures led the round that included an initial investment and further funding based on certain milestones being reached.
Geneos Therapeutics has spun out of Inovio following the round to develop personalised therapies treatments for cancer based on each patient’s own tumor mutations.
The company will develop treatments designed to direct the body’s own immune system to target proteins called neoantigens which are caused by tumour mutations. It will use the series A funding develop its treatments for first-in-human clinical trials.
Niranjan Sardesai, chief operating officer of Inovio, said: “Geneos holds the potential to become the leader in the development of personalised cancer immunotherapies to provide patients the chance for a cure.
“My confidence in this startup, based on industry leading technology, rests on the fact that Geneos can create neoantigen-targeting immunotherapies against any cancer.”