Building on research by a former University of Minnesota professor, Torigen Pharmaceuticals has begun in-veterinary testing of its immunooncology vaccine for companion animals.
Torigen Pharmaceuticals, a US-based veterinary cancer immunotherapy developer based on University of Minnesota research, has closed a $3.1m series A round featuring University of Connecticut-backed UConn Innovation Fund.
UConn Innovation Fund, which also counts state-owned investment firm Connecticut Innovations (CI) and financial services Webster Bank as partners, is a $1.5m vehicle open to participants in the UConn Technology Incubation Program.
CI led the series A round in its own right, with participation from SoGal Ventures, The Fund and assorted angel investors. The deal includes conversions of existing debt and interest instruments.
Founded in 2013, Torigen Pharmaceuticals develops immuno-oncology products for pets based on its research and development platform.
The company’s initial product is already available to veterinary surgeries on an experimental basis. It works by extracting a section of the animal tumour to create a personalised cancer vaccine that empowers the pet’s immune system to combat the disease.
Torigen will put the series A capital into further projects exploiting its R&D platform as well as an expansion of its customer support team as it continues the experimental rollout of its vaccine.
Chief technology officer Mark Suckow is the former director of research in animal resources at University of Minnesota, who left to join University of Kentucky earlier this month.
Torigen Pharmaceuticals obtained $1.8m of a targeted $2m equity and debt round in January 2019, according to a regulatory filing, but it was unclear whether this included series A capital. It became one of UConn Innovation Fund’s first investments in 2017 alongside cancer diagnostics developer Bioarray Genetics and microbiome profiling technology developer Shoreline Biome.
