GV, a corporate venturing subsidiary of internet and technology conglomerate Alphabet, took part in a $77m series A round for US-based oncology therapy developer IconOVir Bio today.
Venture capital firm Nextech and life sciences investment firm Vida Ventures co-led the round, which included VC firm Two River Group, Bellco Capital, Polaris Partners, Wellington Partners Venture Capital and Logos Capital.
Founded by Two River Group, IconOVir is developing oncolytic virus therapies that will form the basis of personalised cancer treatments. It is based on technology developed by its scientific founder Clodagh O’Shea, at Salk Institute for Biological Sciences.
The startup’s lead drug candidate, OV-1042 is derived from the common cold virus and could potentially infect and kills tumour cells in areas such as the head, neck, bladder, lung and breast. It aims on submit an investigational new drug (IND) application in early 2022.
Mark McCamish, chief executive of IconOVir, said: “We are committed to designing and developing the next generation of high-potency, tumour-selective oncolytic viruses that can be used in a wide variety of solid tumours, including metastatic disease.
“This can address the major limitations of the only currently marketed oncolytic virus therapy. In pursuit of that goal, and in collaboration with Dr O’Shea, we have created a robust discovery pipeline.
“With our series A financing, raised from the support of premier healthcare investors, we believe we have the financial resources to advance our product candidates into clinical development over the next 18 to 24 months.”
