Amsterdam, The Netherlands, December 04, 2019 – LSP, the leading European life sciences investor, today announced the closing of a €48 million ($53 million) Series B financing of ImCheck Therapeutics, a biotech company developing a first-in-class antibody to activate gamma delta (gd) T cells in a range of cancer indications and a portfolio of novel immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases. The Series B round was co-led by Pfizer Ventures and Bpifrance and joined by new investors Wellington Partners, Agent Capital and Alexandria Venture Investments. Existing investors LSP, Gimv, Idinvest Partners, Kurma Partners and Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund that contributed to the 2017 €20 Million Series A round participated for a significant portion of this raise.The proceeds of the Series B will be used to fund the initial clinical trial for ImCheck’s first-in-class monoclonal antibody ICT01, to further expand the company’s broad pipeline of immunomodulators targeting the butyrophilins super-family and to bring additional immuno-oncology antibody programs into the clinic.
“The quality of the team and the excellence of the pipeline are impressive. Imcheck’s potential is huge, covering first-in-class products in the oncology space, with a potential in auto-immune disorders and infectious diseases. The Series A has enabled the company to build a strong management, to robust the outstanding scientific foundations set by Professor Daniel Olive, and to develop a pipeline of new immune modulators. This €48 million Series B financing gathers investors of high quality giving Imcheck the ability to unfold its true potential,” commented Vincent Brichard, Venture Partner at LSP.
“ImCheck’s first clinical trial starting next year with ICT01 is based on comprehensive translational research supporting its potential to activate gd T cells to kill malignant cells. The funding allows us to accelerate the development of our unique immuno-oncology pipeline, further investigate the potential of our antibodies in autoimmune disease, and establish clinical operations and corporate development activities in the US,” said Pierre d’Epenoux, Chief Executive Officer at ImCheck Therapeutics.
“We are very pleased to add these top tier institutional and strategic investors from both the US and EU in the closing of our Series B financing," commented Debasish Roychowdhury, Chairman of ImCheck Board of Directors. "We believe this investment represents a strong validation of our pipeline and its potential both in cancer and autoimmune diseases.”
About IMCHECK THERAPEUTICS
ImCheck Therapeutics is designing and developing a new generation of immunotherapy antibodies positioned at the crossroads of two high-potential immunological fields: g9d2 T cells and a novel super-family of immunomodulators, butyrophilins.
Due to their mechanism of action, and notably their ability to simultaneously modulate innate and adaptive immunity, ImCheck's “first-in-class” activating antibodies may be able to produce superior clinical results as compared to the first generation of immune checkpoint inhibitors and when used in combination to overcome the resistance to this group of agents. In addition, preclinical experiments with ImCheck’s antagonist antibodies have demonstrated potential as treatments for a wide range of autoimmune diseases.
Co-founder of the Marseille Immunopole cluster, ImCheck benefits from support from Prof. Daniel Olive (INSERM, CNRS, Institut Paoli Calmettes, Aix-Marseille Université), a worldwide leader in gd T cells and butyrophilins research; from the experience of an expert management team; and from the commitment of leading US and European investors.
About LSP
LSP (Life Sciences Partners) is an independent European investment firm, providing financing for private and public life sciences companies. LSP’s mission is to connect investors to inventors, focusing on unmet medical needs. Since the late 1980s, LSP’s management has invested in over 100 innovative enterprises, many of which have grown to become leaders of the global life sciences industry. With over €2.0 billion ($2.3 billion) of investment capital raised to date and offices in Amsterdam, Munich and Boston, LSP is one of Europe’s leading life sciences investors. LSP also invests in public companies through its Euronext-listed LSP Life Sciences Fund (Bloomberg: LSP NA). For more information, please visit: lspvc.com.
Contact:
Vincent Brichard, Venture Partner
ioevpuneq@yfcip.pbz
+31206645500