Startups, BioPharma

Dutch bispecific antibody developer nets $18.7 million from US, European VCs

Lava Therapeutics nets 16 million euros in Series B round and plans to decide on clinical drug candidate in oncology this year.

A Dutch start-up exploring bispecific antibodies for cancers completed its first major round of institutional investment, which included US as well as European venture capital firms.

Lava Therapeutics, based in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, said Wednesday that it had raised 16 million euros – $18.7 million – led by San Francisco-based Versant Ventures and Utrecht, Netherlands-based Gilde Healthcare, along with Merck & Co.’s MRL Ventures Fund.

Erik Ensing, the company’s senior director of business development, said in a phone interview that the investment constituted a Series B. The company initially raised 1 million euros in 2016 from angel investors, which it regards as the Series A round, but the latest round marks the first major investment it has received, he said.

The company is developing bispecific monoclonal antibodies that target the gamma-delta T-cell receptor. Bispecific antibodies are those that bind simultaneously to two proteins called antigens on the surface of cancer cells. Blincyto, known generically as blinatumomab and marketed by Amgen since 2014, is a bispecific antibody used to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia and is the only such antibody licensed. Unlike the ones Lava is developing, however, Blincyto uses the CD3 arm instead of the gamma-delta T-cell receptor, Ensing said.

Ensing said the company has not yet determined which cancer indications it will target, but they will include hematological as well as solid tumors. He added that the company will probably select a clinical candidate this year.

In a report released on Oct. 11, 2017, Research and Markets noted that the overall pipeline comprises more than 200 bispecific antibodies under development in oncology, autoimmune and infectious diseases. A press release to announce the report did not provide a forecast of the market’s value. Amgen reported in its 2017 earnings that Blincyto’s sales reached $175 million worldwide last year, compared with $115 million in 2016.

Photo: StockFinland, Getty Images

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