- Egle will develop first-in-class immunotherapies targeting suppressor regulatory T cells (Tregs) for oncology and autoimmune diseases
- Series A financing co-led by LSP and Bpifrance, through its InnoBio 2 Fund, and with participation from Takeda Ventures, Inc., Fund+ and Bioqube
Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 22 October 2021 – LSP, one of the leading life sciences and health care investors, today announced that Egle Therapeutics SAS (Egle), an emerging biotechnology company focused on developing first in class T-regulatory cell therapies based on Treg-starvers for oncology and autoimmune diseases completed a € 40 million ($ 46.4 million) Series A financing. The round was co-led by LSP (from its LSP 7 fund) and Bpifrance (through its InnoBio 2 Fund). Fund+, Bioqube Ventures and Takeda Ventures, Inc. also participated in this round.
“Closing a substantial Series A of € 40 million from a high-quality syndicate of renowned investors, as well as a partnership with a top big pharma like the one we have announced with Takeda in June 2020, all in less than 18 months, puts Egle on a trajectory to execute its vision of tackling regulatory T cells to restore immunity in patients suffering from cancer and autoimmune diseases” commented Luc Boblet, co-founder and CEO of Egle. “The funding will give us appropriate resources to push the first Treg starvers into the clinic and we feel very privileged to undertake such responsibility for the benefit of the whole patient community”.
Egle Therapeutics was founded in early 2020 with a vision to become a game changer in the field of Tregs immunomodulation through the unique concept of Tregs starving and specifically targeting the most immunosuppressive ones. Spun out of Institut Curie, Egle’s scientific foundation leverages unprecedented, computational-based, IL-2 modified variants and newly tumor-associated Treg targets to build a furnished pipeline of First-In-Class immunocytokines against Tregs. The new capital will be used primarily to advance 2 leads assets into the clinic and further strengthen its internal drug pipeline.
“Egle represents a strategic investment in a fist-in-class technology platform based on innovative research with novel T regulatory modulations and potential in the oncology and auto-immunity fields”, comments Vincent Brichard, venture partner at LSP. “We feel privileged to be part of such an exciting company, with world class science and look forward to build it out together with the team and the great syndicate of investors”, adds Felice Verduyn-van Weegen, partner at LSP.
As part of the investment, Vincent Brichard and Felice Verduyn-van Weegen will join the Egle Therapeutics Board of Directors.
About Egle Therapeutics
Established in early 2020, as a spin-out of Institut Curie by Luc Boblet, serial biotech entrepreneur and Dr Eliane Piaggio, PhD, renowned immunologist in the Treg / IL-2 field (INSERM Research Director, Head of the Translational Immunotherapy Team – TransImm – at Institut Curie), Egle Therapeutics develops First-In-Class immunotherapies targeting immune suppressor regulatory T cells (Tregs) for oncology and autoimmune diseases. The key element of Egle’s core approach is the leveraging of its translational-based target discovery platform to unveil novel therapeutic Treg targets and computationally designed immunocytokines acting as antagonists or as selective Treg-agonists. egle-tx.com.
About LSP
LSP is one of the largest European investment firms providing financing for life sciences and health care companies. LSP’s management has raised over € 2.7 billion ($ 3.2 billion) and supported the growth of 300 companies since it started to invest in 1988, including signature deals such as argenx, Crucell and Neuravi. With offices in Amsterdam, Munich and Boston, LSP currently has the possibility to invest through five strategies, each having a distinctive investment scope and a dedicated team: LSP 7 invests in private early- to late-stage drug development and medical technology companies; LSP HEF 2 focuses on private late-stage medical technology companies; the LSP Dementia Fund invests in companies targeting neurodegenerative diseases; LSP Public targets public healthcare companies; and EBAC is the first healthcare SPAC to exclusively focus on European biotech. LSP is an active contributor to the global life sciences industry and the European life science eco-system by assuming for-profit and not-for-profit roles as initiators, founders and board members in various private and public bodies and organizations, for example being founder and board member of the Oncode Institute. For more information: lspvc.com.
For more information please contact:
Felice Verduyn-van Weegen, Partner at LSP
+31 (0) 20 664 55 00