invIOs raises €8.2 million in a Series A to finance pipeline progress in immuno-oncology
invIOs GmbH, a privately held biotechnology company developing novel therapies for cancer, announced that the company has raised €8.2 million in a Series A fundraising that includes strong participation from existing shareholders and Ligand Pharmaceuticals. Ligand recently acquired APEIRON, the former parent company of invIOs. This funding secures ongoing pipeline progress and achievement of clinical and preclinical milestones through 2025.
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Peter Llewellyn-Davies, CEO & CFO of invIOs, said: “We are pleased to have raised these funds, which enables us to move our programs forward as planned. I am particularly grateful for the strong support of existing shareholders, as well as the commitment of our new shareholder, Ligand Pharmaceuticals.”
invIOs also provided an update on recent progress with its two lead anti-cancer programs, INV441 and INV501. The company has collaborations in glioblastoma with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) for both programs. The collaborations are being led by David Reardon, MD, Clinical Director, Center for Neuro-Oncology at the DFCI and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Reardon is a world-renowned expert in brain cancer, particularly glioblastoma research and treatment.
“We are thrilled with the progress of our collaboration with the DFCI for both our oral small molecule candidate, INV501, and now also our cell therapy candidate, INV441. With these two immune-oncological approaches, we are developing cancer therapies that have the potential to address major unmet needs in treating deadly tumors, and we are excited to continue our work to ultimately improve and save patients’ lives,” commented Romana Gugenberger, PhD, Chief Medical and Scientific Officer of invIOs.
INV501 first-in-class orally available small molecule. In July 2024, invIOs announced the selection of a lead candidate from its family of compounds. Preclinical testing has shown compelling efficacy and safety results with this candidate in both breast cancer and melanoma models, as well as the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and initiate anti-tumoral immune reactions.
IND-enabling toxicology studies are underway, and manufacturing under GMP conditions is in preparation.Target validation work is planned to be completed and details of the mechanism of action provided in Q1 2025.
INV441 cell therapy. INV441 uses tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) that are modified via siRNA inhibiting the immune checkpoint Cbl-b and administered directly to the tumor. This approach has demonstrated strong preclinical proof of concept in murine glioma models. In 2024, invIOs filed important IP around this program. invIOs recently held a pre-IND (Investigational New Drug) meeting with the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA). In the meeting, the FDA provided helpful input for the planned Phase 1 study with INV441 which is planned to be conducted by the DFCI and is expected to initiate in mid-2025.
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