interleukin-2

Startup Avenge Bio nabs $45M for novel cell therapy approach to ovarian cancer

The field of biotechs pursuing new interleukin-2 cancer immunotherapies is filled with companies engineering different versions of that signaling protein. Avenge Bio CEO Mike Heffernan said his startup stands apart with a cell therapy that produces human IL-2 that could offer advantages compared to engineered versions of that protein.

By Frank Vinluan

Pharma BioPharma,

Asher Bio adds $55M and takes a page from nature for cancer immunotherapy

Interluekin-2’s use as an immunotherapy has been limited by its severe side effects. Asher Bio is developing a version of IL-2 that the startup’s Chief Technology Officer Andy Yeung said could be more targeted and safer than other approaches.

By Frank Vinluan