Texas partners Immatics on immunotherapy

Texas University is working with German biotech Immatics on a new immunotherapy firm already backed with $60m.

The spinout, Immatics US, has secured $19.7m in grant funding from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas – a state backed institution established in 2007 with $3bn in bonds to fuel cancer research within Texas. The remaining $40.3m has come from Immatics.

In similar vein to companies such as Juno Therapeutics, Texas-based Immatics US will focus on T-cell therapies. The company is looking to genetically modify T-cells which have been removed from a patient to be able to identify and destroy cancerous tissue which are then reinfused. The pioneering oncology treatment has caught fire in recent months as the process, which shows great promise in treating cancer, has attracted significant investor interest.

The company will be drawing on both the expertise of Immatics, through the utilisation of the biotech’s Xpresident platform to discover cancer targets, and Texas University’s MD Anderson Cancer Centre, drawing on licensed technologies from the institution in the immunotherapy field.

Harpreet Singh, CEO of Immatics US, said: “The potential of cancer immunotherapy has been constrained by the lack of novel targets. Immatics has been working for the last 15 years to gain a broad and in-depth understanding of the immunopeptidome of tumour and normal tissue cells. Based on this unique expertise we have discovered dozens of novel immunotherapy targets that will be central to the success of Immatics US, Inc. With several complementary development programs guided by some of the most exceptional scientists in the field of cancer immunotherapy, we are in exactly the right place to deliver transforming therapies to cancer patients with high medical need.”