ImCheck Therapeutics today announced that it has secured an additional €6 million ($7.1 million) from BB Pureos Bioventures (“Pureos”) in an extension of its Series B bringing the total raised in this round to €54 million in capital (approximately $64 million).
The newly added capital underscores the broad potential of ImCheck’s butyrophilin superfamily-focused pipeline and the progress the company has achieved in the ongoing EVICTION (NCT04243499) Phase I/IIa clinical trial for the company’s first-in-class gamma9 delta2 (γ9δ2) T cell-activatingmonoclonal antibody ICT01 (anti-butyrophilin 3A). In addition to supporting EVICTION, the funding will also accelerate the development of the company’s pre-clinical portfolio of antibody candidates in immuno-oncology, auto-immune and infectious disease indications.
The initial close of the Series B, announced in December 2019, included participation from a syndicate of leading US and EU-based life science investors including new investors Bpifrance, Pfizer Ventures, Wellington Partners, Agent Capital and Alexandria Venture Investments as well as from ImCheck’s Series A investors Boehringer Ingelheim Venture, Kurma Partners, Idinvest Partners, Life Sciences Partners and Gimv.
As part of the investment, Dr. Klaus Breiner of Pureos will become an observer to ImCheck’s Board of Directors. Separately, Boehringer Ingelheim Venture’s representative to the Board will transition from Dr. Detlev Mennerich to Dr. Philipp Mueller.
“We are impressed by ImCheck’s momentum over the last years and the company’s efforts to-date on designing and now executing an impressive first-in-human clinical program for evaluating ICT01 in cancer patients. I am excited to support the ImCheck leadership team as they translate great science into novel potential treatments,” added Klaus Breiner, PhD, Managing Partner at Pureos.
“We value the investment by Pureos, which provides us with additional financial and strategic flexibility. The capital we have raised to date validates the unique potential of ImCheck’s leadership position in developing antibodies targeting butyrophilins, a superfamily of targets with tremendous potential in immuno-oncology as well as other immune system related indications,” stated Pierre d’Epenoux, Chief Executive Officer.“I would like to thank Detlev for his years of support and we welcome Klaus and Philipp to our group of investors.”