UK-based vaccine developer Vaccitech raised £20m ($27.1m) in a series A round yesterday co-led by GV, the early-stage corporate venturing unit of internet and technology conglomerate Alphabet.
University venturing fund Oxford Sciences Innovation (OSI) and venture capital firm Sequoia Capital China co-led the round with GV, investing alongside Neptune Ventures. Vaccitech is a spinout of University of Oxford.
Founded in 2016, Vaccitech is working on a universal flu vaccine and other vaccine-related products that induce cellular immune responses by relying on non-replicating viral vectors for treatment or disease prevention.
The company has six products in development, and its flu vaccine is currently undergoing a phase 2b trial. A prostate cancer therapeutic is currently in a phase 1 study and is set to enter a phase 2 trial for metastatic prostate cancer in the coming months.
The spinout is also working on a prophylactic for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (commonly known as MERS) and vaccines for Human Papillomavirus (also known as HPV) and hepatitis B.
The platform is based on research by Adrian Hill, professor of human genetics and director of the Jenner Institute, and Sarah Gilbert, professor of vaccinology at the Jenner Institute.
Vaccitech will use the series A proceeds to expand its business, build out its laboratory and advance its flu and prostate cancer vaccines through phase 2 trials by the end of 2019. It also intends to launch clinical trials for three additional programs.
The company previously raised $14.5m in a 2016 seed round backed by OSI, Invesco, Landsdowne and Woodford Investment Management.
GV general partner Tom Hulme said: “Vaccitech’s world class team have achieved an incredible amount with relatively little funding to date – the T-cell responses to the company’s viral vector platform are among the highest that have been achieved in man – we look forward to it being applied to tackle multiple human diseases.”
– The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.