Anaveon, a Switzerland-based immunooncology spinout of University of Zurich (UZH), raised CHF35m ($35.1m) yesterday in a series A round backed by pharmaceutical developer Novartis’s Venture Fund.

Life sciences-focused investment firm Syncona led the round, which also includes converted seed-stage notes bought previously by UZH Life Sciences Fund.

Syncona, which owns a 47% stake in Anaveon following the transaction, counts research charities Wellcome Trust and Cancer Research UK among its investors.

Founded in December 2017, Anaveon is working on cancer therapies that rely on a signalling protein called interleukin-2 (IL-2) to stimulate the patient’s immune system so that it can recognise and destroy cancer cells.

IL-2 treatments have already been approved for metastatic melanoma and renal cancer, so the mechanism is not new, but Anaveon hopes to address drawbacks with the approach such as toxicity and abbreviated effectiveness during repeat doses.

The company was co-founded by Onur Boyman, professor and chair in University of Zurich’s Department of Immunology, and Andreas Katopodis, previously director of autoimmunity, transplantation and inflammation work for Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, the corporate’s internal R&D division.

Anaveon has added Martin Murphy, chief executive of Syncona, and, Dominic Schmidt, partner at Syncona, to its board of directors along with Florian Müllershausen, principal of Novartis Venture Fund.

Alice Renard, another partner at Syncona, will join the board in an observer capacity. Anaveon received the aforementioned seed financing from UZH Life Sciences Fund in June 2018, according to Startupticker.ch.

Anja Koenig, global head of the Novartis Venture Fund and a board member at the UZH Life Science Fund, said: “Such a strong series A financing, by an international syndicate, of a company spun out of University of Zurich was for me personally a great validation of the principles behind the UZH spinout fund to support Swiss innovation.”

– This article first appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.

Anaveon, a Switzerland-based immunooncology spinout of University of Zurich (UZH), raised CHF35m ($35.1m) yesterday in a series A round backed by pharmaceutical developer Novartis’s Venture Fund.
Life sciences-focused investment firm Syncona led the round, which also includes converted seed-stage notes bought previously by UZH Life Sciences Fund.
Syncona, which owns a 47% stake in Anaveon following the transaction, counts research charities Wellcome Trust and Cancer Research UK among its investors.
Founded in December 2017, Anaveon is working on cancer therapies that rely on a signalling protein called interleukin-2 (IL-2) to stimulate the patient’s immune system so that it can recognise and destroy cancer cells.
IL-2 treatments have already been approved for metastatic melanoma and renal cancer, so the mechanism is not new, but Anaveon hopes to address drawbacks with the approach such as toxicity and abbreviated effectiveness during repeat doses.
The company was co-founded by Onur Boyman, professor and chair in University of Zurich’s Department of Immunology, and Andreas Katopodis, previously director of autoimmunity, transplantation and inflammation work for Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, the corporate’s internal R&D division.
Anaveon has added Martin Murphy, chief executive of Syncona, and, Dominic Schmidt, partner at Syncona, to its board of directors along with Florian Müllershausen, principal of Novartis Venture Fund.
Alice Renard, another partner at Syncona, will join the board in an observer capacity. Anaveon received the aforementioned seed financing from UZH Life Sciences Fund in June 2018, according to Startupticker.ch.
Anja Koenig, global head of the Novartis Venture Fund and a board member at the UZH Life Science Fund, said: “Such a strong series A financing, by an international syndicate, of a company spun out of University of Zurich was for me personally a great validation of the principles behind the UZH spinout fund to support Swiss innovation.”