Icosavax has launched out of University of Washington with $51m in series A funding to move a vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus into a phase 1b trial.
Icosavax, a US-based vaccine developer spun out of University of Washington (UW), made its public debut yesterday with $51m of series A funding led by venture capital firm Qiming Venture Partners USA.
Sanofi Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of pharmaceutical firm Sanofi, also contributed to the round, as did private equity firm Adams Street Partners, venture capital firm NanoDimension and undisclosed existing investors.
Founded in 2018, Icosavax is developing vaccines for infectious diseases using molecules known as virus-like particles (VLPs) which closely resemble viruses but are non-infectious because they do not contain genetic material.
Once injected, VLPs present complex antigens with immunological properties, having been moulded into their final form using self-folding proteins created with Icosavax’s computational design platform.
The spinout’s lead asset, IVX-121, is a vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus, a common condition with cold-like symptoms that can have serious complications in older adults. The series A capital will help take IVX-121 through phase 1b clinical testing.
Icosavax commercialises research conducted at UW’s Institute for Protein Design (IPD) by Neil King, assistant professor of biochemistry, and David Baker, endowed professor of biochemistry and director of the IPD.
Adam Simpson has been appointed chief executive of Icosavax. Simpson is also chief executive of PvP Biologics, another spinout of IPD that is working on a treatment for coeliac disease.
Icosavax raised seed funding in 2018, however further details could not be ascertained.
