Subsidiaries of Astellas and Novartis co-led a series B round that took Harvard's cancer treatment developer's overall funding to $60m.
TScan Therapeutics, a US-based oncology therapy spinout of Harvard University, has closed a $35m series B round that included vehicles for pharmaceutical firms Astellas and Novartis.
Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research and Astellas Venture Management co-led the round with venture capital fund Pitango Venture Capital, while Novartis also invested through its Novartis Venture Fund.
Internet and technology group Alphabet took part in the round through its GV unit. It included 6 Dimensions Capital, the investment firm co-founded by pharmaceutical company WuXi AppTec, as well as Longwood Fund and Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP).
TScan is developing drugs that will target T-cell receptors in order to reprogram them to locate and destroy cancer cells. The technology was developed in the laboratory of Stephen Elledge, professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School, and of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
The spinout said the round increased its overall funding…
