Date: 2015-06-24
Type of information: Series A financing round
Company: ViraTherapeutics (Austria)
Investors: Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund (BIVF) (Germany) EMBL Ventures (Germany) Austria Wirtschaftsservice (Austria)
Amount: €3.6 million
Funding type: series A financing round
Planned used: ViraTherapeutics ViraT will use these funds to advance its lead product VSV-GP through pre-clinical studies prior to clinical Phase 1b testing to demonstrate early clinical proof of concept. ViraT expects to start its first clinical trials with VSV-GP in cancer patients in 2017. VSV-GP is a highly potent oncolytic virus that carries the surface protein from the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV). VSV-GP, due to this LCMV pseudo-typing could be the first oncolytic virus therapeutic to be administered systemically on a repeated basis without its cancer killing properties being inactivated by the patient’s immune system.
VSV-GP replicates specifically and rapidly in tumour cells resulting in their destruction. This results in a profound local immunization effect that further enhances the effectiveness of VSV-GP. Based on its unique characteristics, VSV-GP has significant potential in the immuno-oncology space either as a stand-alone agent or in combination with other treatment options.
Others: * On June 24, 2015, ViraTherapeutics, a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing cancer immunotherapies based on oncolytic (cancer-destroying) viruses, announces the first closing of a Series A financing round, raising €3.6 million. The round was co-led by Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund (BIVF) and EMBL Ventures, and included an investment from Austria Wirtschaftsservice (aws) through its Venture-Capital-Initiative. In conjunction with this financing, Drs. Mennerich and Adams, together with Dr. Rolf Kapferer will join the Advisory Board of ViraTherapeutics GmbH. ViraT was created in 2013 as a spin-out from the Medical University of Innsbruck. The Company has recently been awarded a €1.6 million financing from the Austrian Research Promoting Agency (Research Studio Austria) and the aws Seedfinancing programme.The company currently has 6 employees and collaborates with a team of scientists, working in the labs of Prof. von Laer, at the University.
Therapeutic area: Cancer - Oncology
