€26m financing for ISA Pharmaceuticals

New investors of the company, including Invest-NL, joined existing investors, among them Regeneron. ISA, which is located in Leiden Bio Science Park, will use the proceeds of this round to bring its lead product ISA101b towards first marketing authorisation as well as to broaden the clinical pipeline of immunotherapies based on the Synthetic Long Peptide (SLP) platform technology.  SLP immunotherapies act through the specific activation of the patient’s own immune system.

ISA101b targets cancers caused by human papilloma virus type 16 (HPV16). It is in late stage clinical development in three trials for the treatment of advanced stages of HPV16-positive head and neck cancer and cervical cancer in combination with Libtayo (cemiplimab, anti-PD1 immunotherapy), which is being co-developed by Regeneron and Sanofi. Persistent HPV16 infection can cause head & neck, cervical and anogenital cancers.

“Invest-NL is happy to support ISA Pharmaceuticals to accelerate its clinical studies and we are confident that the company will succeed in bringing its lead therapy for patients with HPV16-positive head & neck cancer and cervical cancer to the market,” said Leo Holwerda, Director Capital at Invest-NL. “This innovative and impactful therapy will strengthen the prospects of many patients.”