Vrije Universiteit Brussel’s Camel-IDS collected funding from investors including Novo for a radiation-based oncology platform that will initially target Her2-positive brain metastatic breast cancer.
Camel-IDS, a Belgium-based radioimmunotherapy spinout from Vrije Universiteit Brussel, has attracted €37m ($42m) in a series A round co-led by Novo Seeds, a corporate venturing subsidiary of pharmaceutical firm Novo.
Venture capital firms V-Bio Ventures, Gimv, HealthCap, Pontifax and BioMedPartners also co-led the round. It followed $1.5m of seed funding from investors including nonprofit research body Fournier-Majoie Foundation at an unspecified date.
Founded in 2014, Camel-IDS is working on immunotherapeutic drugs activated by radiation that utilise antigen-binding fragments derived from the Camelidae family of mammals to kill specific cancerous cells.
The funding will enable Camel-IDS to conduct phase 1b and 2 clinical trials on its lead program, Cam-H2, targeting Her2-positive brain metastatic breast cancer. Proceeds will help advance the spinout’s pre-clinical candidates.
Morten Graugaard Døssing, investment director of Novo Seeds, has joined the board of directors at Camel-IDS together with Christina Takke, managing director of V-Bio Ventures, and Gimv partner Karl Naegler. Ohad Hammer, partner at Pontifax, will also sit on the board.
