T3 Pharma, a Switzerland-based developer of immuno-oncology treatments spun out of University of Basel, closed more than CHF25m ($26.8m) in funding yesterday from investors including pharmaceutical firm Boehringer Ingelheim.
The corporate’s Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund (BIVF) joined Reference Capital, Wille Finance and undisclosed private investors in what was the third funding round to be completed by the company.
Founded in 2015, T3 is using live bacteria to create cancer drugs designed to work by triggering the body’s immune response. It plans to take its lead product candidate, T3P-Y058-739, into a phase 1/2 clinical trial for solid tumours next year.
The company received $1m from undisclosed private investors in 2016 before adding $12m in funding from BIVF, Reference Capital and unnamed existing backers in September 2019.
Frank Kalkbrenner, head of BIVF, said: “Since I joined the board last year, I have been impressed not only by the technology, but also by the team and the approach they have taken to building T3 Pharma’s innovative, differentiated platform and progressing its lead candidate.
“It is an endorsement of the quality of the science and the team that another financing round has been completed with an exceptional group of investors, which share our vision of improving the lives of cancer patients.”
– A version of this article first appeared on our sister site, Global Corporate Venturing.

T3 Pharma, a Switzerland-based developer of immuno-oncology treatments, closed more than CHF25m ($26.8m) in funding yesterday from investors including pharmaceutical firm Boehringer Ingelheim.

The corporate’s Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund (BIVF) joined Reference Capital, Wille Finance and undisclosed private investors in what was the third funding round to be completed by the company.

Founded in 2015 as a University of Basel spinout, T3 is using live bacteria to create cancer drugs designed to work by triggering the body’s immune response. It plans to take its lead product candidate, T3P-Y058-739, into a phase 1/2 clinical trial for solid tumours next year.

The company received $1m from undisclosed private investors in 2016 before adding $12m in funding from BIVF, Reference Capital and unnamed existing backers in September 2019.

Frank Kalkbrenner, head of BIVF, said: “Since I joined the board last year, I have been impressed not only by the technology, but also by the team and the approach they have taken to building T3 Pharma’s innovative, differentiated platform and progressing its lead candidate.

“It is an endorsement of the quality of the science and the team that another financing round has been completed with an exceptional group of investors, which share our vision of improving the lives of cancer patients.”