The KCL immuno-oncology spinout’s second series A close included investment from UCL Technology Fund, Alsa Holding and Epidarex Capital.
Igem Therapeutics, a UK-based immuno-oncology spinout of King’s College London (KCL), closed a £5m ($6.4m) series A round on Friday following a $3.8m extension from investors including UCL Technology Fund.
Biotech-focused investment firm Alsa Holding also contributed funding, as did Epidarex Capital, which provided Igem with an initial $2.6m series A tranche in June 2017.
UCL Technology Fund is a university venturing fund focused on University College London (UCL) and open to projects with a clear UCL connection, though Igem’s link to the university could not be ascertained.
Founded in 2016, Igem develops therapeutic candidates for a range of cancers based on an antibody subtype called immunoglobulin E which it claims could fight multicellular parasitic organisms caused by the disease.
The antibody works to destroy solid tumours by nurturing local immune effector cells such as macrophages, basophils and monocytes.
The series A capital will help advance Igem’s pipeline, which includes candidates targeting cancers of the ovaries, breast and lungs, as well as melanoma, which originates from pigment cells.
Igem’s scientific co-founders are Sophia Karagiannis, a reader in translational cancer immunology at KCL, and James Spicer, professor of experimental cancer medicine.
