[March 09, 2017] |
|
OncoResponse Announces Final Closing of $22.5M Series A Financing Round
OncoResponse,
an immuno-oncology antibody discovery company, today announced that it
has closed its ongoing $22.5 million Series A financing round and has
appointed Mike Gallatin, Ph.D., Albert Yu, M.D., and Elizabeth Jaffee,
M.D. to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). The newly-appointed SAB
members join original members James Welsh, M.D. and David Hong, M.D.,
both investigators at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Kristine Swiderek,
Ph.D., CSO of OncoResponse, is chair of the SAB.
In October 2015, OncoResponse secured an initial closing of its Series A
financing co-led by ARCH Venture Partners, Canaan Partners, and MD
Anderson, with William Marsh Rice University and Alexandria Real Estate
Equities also participating. In May 2016, OncoResponse secured an
additional investment by Baxalta (now Shire), which was followed by
supplemental investments from GreatPoint Ventures and the Helsinn
Investment Fund in October 2016. The recent investment by current
insiders and HT Family Office brings the total Series A financing to
$22.5 million, which will be used to support OncoResponse's ongoing
efforts to interrogate the humoral response of elite responders to
cancer immunotherapy to identify antibodies and potential targets for
novel therapeutic development.
OncoResponse utilizes a clinically validated platform technology to
rapidly screen antibodies made by the human immune system and identify
those with exceptional reactivity to cancer. The Company has a strategic
alliance with MD Anderson Cancer Center, which provides continuous
access to patient samples across multiple cancer indications and to
oncology and translational medicine expertise including clinical and
regulatory input.
"HT Family Office is an excellent addition to our solid investor base
and we warmly welcome them along with our new Scientific Advisory Board
members, who bring extensive industry and oncology expertise to our
team," said Clifford J. Stocks, CEO of OncoResponse. "With the final
closing of our Series A, we look ahead to the continued development of
our research programs that aim to expand the promise of immuno-oncology
by identifying therapeutically relevant antibodies from patients with
elite response to cancer immunotherapy in a numbe of oncology
indications."
"OncoResponse's approach to addressing the unmet need in patients who
are partial or non-responders to immunotherapy is harmonized with our
investment strategy," said Alvin Syh, General Manager of HT Family
Office. "We are honored to be able to support the advancement of this
potentially transformative technology at such a crucial time in the
Company's development."
New members of the OncoResponse Scientific Advisory Board include:
Mike Gallatin, Ph.D. Dr. Gallatin is a Senior Advisor on the
Frazier Healthcare Partners Life Sciences team and brings over 35 years
of experience as a scientist and executive to the OncoResponse
Scientific Advisory Board. He co-founded Calistoga Pharmaceuticals
(acquired by Gilead) and Stromedix Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Biogen
Idec) and served as President of Calistoga, which was the first company
to demonstrate the clinical benefit of an isoform selective PI3K
(idelalisib) inhibitor in hematologic malignancies. Dr. Gallatin was one
of the founding scientists at ICOS Corporation (acquired by Eli Lilly
and Company), where he served as VP and Scientific Director. Earlier in
his career, Mike developed expertise in the fields of
immunology/inflammation and oncology while on the faculty at the Fred
Hutchinson Cancer Center. Dr. Gallatin received his Ph.D. from the
University of Alberta Department of Immunology and was a Damon
Runyon-Walter Winchell and American Cancer Society fellow at Stanford
University in the laboratory of Dr. Irving Weissman.
Albert Yu, M.D. Dr. Yu has over 20 years of clinical drug
development experience and expertise. He previously served as Vice
President of Clinical Development at Omeros Corporation and as Chief
Medical Officer and Vice President of Clinical Affairs at Calistoga
Pharmaceuticals. At Calistoga, he played a key role in the development
of Zydelig® for the treatment of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and
chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Prior to that, he was Senior Director of
Clinical Operations, Research & Affairs at ICOS Corporation, where he
was instrumental in the development of Cialis® for the
treatment of erectile dysfunction. Dr. Yu received his B.S. in biology
from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his M.D. from the
University of Washington. He is trained in internal medicine, critical
care medicine and pulmonary disease.
Elizabeth M. Jaffee, M.D. Dr. Jaffee is an international
leader in the development of immune based therapies for pancreatic and
breast cancers. She is currently Deputy Director of the Sidney Kimmel
Comprehensive Cancer Center and Professor of Oncology at Johns Hopkins
University, where her research focuses on evaluating mechanisms of
immune tolerance to cancer, the identification of human tumor antigens
recognized by T cells, and the analysis of antitumor immune responses in
breast and pancreatic cancers. Prior to joining Johns Hopkins, she
served as a research fellow and principal investigator at the University
of Pittsburgh. Dr. Jaffee received her B.A. in biology and immunology magna
cum laude from Brandeis University (News - Alert) and her M.D. from New York
Medical College. She completed her medical residency at
Presbyterian-University Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
About HT Family Office HT Family Office (HTFO) was
established in 1999. The management team is situated in Beijing and Hong
Kong. HTFO covers a full-spectrum of strategies in different sectors
(Healthcare, IT, AI, TMT etc.), at different stages (early stage VC,
late stage VC, PE fund and PE FOF etc.) and in different regions (US,
EU, Israel and Asia) by both co-investment and direct investment. Up to
now, HTFO has a global portfolio through more than 70 investment funds
and more than 280 portfolio companies.
About OncoResponse OncoResponse mines the human adaptive
immune system to discover therapeutic antibodies against novel
immuno-oncology targets. By identifying candidates from the immune
systems of patients who have responded exceptionally well to cancer
immunotherapies, OncoResponse has the potential to discover and develop
drugs that can increase the success rate of these therapies across
multiple cancer types. www.oncoresponseinc.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170309005399/en/
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
|