Stanford spinout Forty Seven is working on an immuno-oncology treatment to fight the overproduction of proteins which inhibit the immune response to cancer.
Forty Seven, a US-based cancer therapy developer spun out from Stanford University, closed a $75m series B round on Tuesday led by Wellington Management.
GV, the early-stage corporate venturing arm of diversified conglomerate Alphabet, also participated in the round, as did Clarus Ventures, Sutter Hill Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Founded in 2015, Forty Seven is developing immuno-oncology antibodies. Its lead candidate, Hu5F9-G4, is expected to tackle the overproduction in cancer cells of a protein called CD47, which is thought to inhibit the cancer immune response.
Hu5F9-G4 is currently undergoing five clinical trials in the phase 1b and phase 1b/2 stages with solid tumours, leukaemia and lymphoma.
The cash will be used to further assess the performance of Hu5F9-G4.
Lightspeed and Sutter Hill previously co-led the first $34m tranche of a series A round in February 2016, with participation from GV and Clarus. The consortium had committed the full $75m, but details on the final close were not disclosed.
California Institute for Regenerative Medicine had earlier provided $30m in funding to support preclinical development, according to Xconomy. Ludwig Cancer Research has also supplied capital, through further details could not be ascertained.
Mark McCamish, chief executive of Forty Seven, said: “The financing allows us to rigorously explore the clinical response of different tumours to Hu5F9-G4 mono and combination-therapy and determine the optimal pathway to rapidly bring this new treatment option to patients.”
