Neogene sends for $110m series A

Neogene Therapeutics, a US-based T-cell cancer therapy spinout of research centre Netherlands Cancer Institute, secured $110m yesterday in a series A round co-led by commercialisation firm Syncona.
Investment firms Jeito Capital and EcoR1 Capital co-led the round, with further participation from Vida Ventures, TPG and Two River.
Founded in 2018, Neogene has devised a means of engineering effective T-cell receptors (TCR) onto large numbers of immune system T-cells in order to enhance their ability to fight off cancer.
The approach relies on specific TCR genes picked out from routine tumour samples during biopsies. Once engineered onto T-cells, these would allow the body to address mutated DNA which typically enable tumours to evade its natural defences.
Neogene has already delivered proof-of-concept of its technology and will use the series A capital to push its programs toward the clinic. Proceeds from the round will also help ramp up its operations.
The spinout has not formally announced details of its earlier funding, although Jeito was described as a new investor in the series A round. It lists Bellco Capital, Two River, Polaris Partners and Pontifax as investors on its website.
Ton Schumacher, a principal investigator at Netherlands Cancer Institute, co-founded the company together with its chief executive Carsten Linnemann.