French ImCheck get´s a USD103m check by Pfizer and a pack of VCs
ImCheck Therapeutics located in Marseille, France, announced today the close of a EUR 96 million (USD 103 million) financing, co-led by Earlybird and Andera Partners. Kurma Partners, Eurazeo, Gimv, Pfizer, Bpifrance through its Innobio 2 and Large Venture funds, Wellington Partners, Pureos Bioventures, Agent Capital and Alexandria Venture Investments are invested already. Invus and The Leukemia & Lymphoma
Society Therapy Acceleration Program also joined the round as new investors.
With around EUR100m in previous financing rounds ImChecks financial position looks ‘solidified’ to take on the leadership in the gamma-delta T cell space. The proceeds will be used to support the Phase IIa expansion and completion of the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled part of the ongoing EVICTION clinical trial
evaluating ImChecks lead candidate ICT01 as a both monotherapy and in combination with a PD-1 inhibitor for a broad range of cancers including solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. The Company also will apply the capital to investigate ICT01 in combination with other therapeutic agents, including IL-2, in the forthcoming EVICTION-2 clinical trial. The company stated that "funding will accelerate the further advance toward the clinic of additional antibody candidates in immuno-oncology, auto-immune and infectious diseases."
Since its inception, ImCheck has gained the support of a syndicate of outstanding international funds.
In a highly challenging funding market, we have secured a significant fundraising through the addition of highly strategic and valuable investors from the U.S. and Europe, putting us in a position to further deliver on the immense promise of our pipeline, stated Pierre dEpenoux, Chief Executive Officer of ImCheck Therapeutics. We view our singular proprietary position with butyrophilins, which offer powerful immunomodulation of both the innate and adaptive immune systems, as the key to therapeutic intervention for many disease indications and we value the support we are now gaining from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Therapy Acceleration Program® as a first investment from a patient-focused organization.
Hans Henrik Christensen, Chief Financial Officer of ImCheck Therapeutics, added, ImCheck has now raised a total of EUR 154 million. We truly appreciate the support from existing and new investors, which extends our cash runway until 2026. This enables us to further explore the pipeline in a product opportunity we have with our lead clinical candidate, ICT01.
ImCheck Therapeutics is designing and developing a new generation of immunotherapeutic antibodies targeting butyrophilins, a super-family of immunomodulators, being investigated for more then a decade. As demonstrated by lead clinical-stage program ICT01, which has a mechanism of action to simultaneously modulate innate and adaptive immunity, ImCheck’s first-in-class activating antibodies are hoped to be able to produce superior clinical results as compared to the first-generation of immune checkpoint inhibitors and, when used in combination, to overcome resistance to this group of agents. In addition, ImChecks antagonist antibodies are being evaluated as potential treatments for a 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 T cells and butyrophilins research; from the experience of an expert management team; and from the commitment of leading US and European investors.
