US-based immunotherapy developer Tmunity Therapeutics increased a series A round backed by several corporates to $135m yesterday, after raising $35m from venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers (KPCB) and unnamed affiliates.
Tmunity secured an initial $100m in January 2018 from investors including biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, insurance provider Ping An, pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly and cellular researcher Be The Match BioTherapies.
University of Pennsylvania and Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy also took part in the January close. Ping An and Eli Lilly invested through respective subsidiaries Ping An Ventures and Lilly Asia Ventures.
Tmunity is working on immunotherapies that are initially focused on cancer, though the technology also has applications in other areas such as infectious and autoimmune diseases. The approach relies on engineered T cells – white blood cells that trigger immune responses.
The company emerged out University of Pennsylvania and is based on research led by Carl June, the Richard Vague professor in immunotherapy in the Perelman School of Medicine.
The additional capital will enable Tmunity to grow its business and expand its operational structure as it looks to translate, develop and manufacture its portfolio of cancer-focused treatments.
Lilly Asia Ventures and University of Pennsylvania’s medical centre, Penn Medicine, had previously invested $10m in the company 2016.
Usman Azam, Tmunity’s president and CEO, said: “We welcome Kleiner Perkins and affiliates to an impressive list of committed investors who share in our vision to provide novel cell and gene therapy approaches and next-generation personalised treatments for patients.”