Lava heats up with MRL funding

Jun 1, 2018 •

Cancer therapy developer Lava Therapeutics has raised $18.6m in a round featuring Merck Research Laboratories unit MRL Ventures.

Lava Therapeutics, a Netherlands-based immuno-oncology treatment spinout from VU University Medical Center, has raised €16m ($18.6m) in funding co-led by Gilde Healthcare and Versant Ventures.

Investors also included MRL Ventures Fund, a subsidiary of pharmaceutical firm Merck & Co’s Merck Research Laboratories division, Lava’s founder investors, fellow investment firms Lupus Ventures and Biox Biosciences.

Lava described the round as its first major institutional financing.

Founded in 2016, Lava is working on cancer treatments based on developing bispecific antibodies intended to…

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