invIOs secures €8.2M Series A for immuno-oncology pipeline development

invIOs GmbH, a privately owned biotechnology firm from Vienna, Austria, has successfully raised €8.2 million in a Series A funding round. This significant financial boost will support the company's ongoing research and development activities through 2025, particularly in achieving key preclinical and clinical milestones. The fundraising saw substantial contributions from existing investors and Ligand Pharmaceuticals, which recently acquired invIOs' former parent company, APEIRON.

Peter Llewellyn-Davies, CEO and CFO of invIOs, expressed gratitude for the support received from shareholders and highlighted the importance of this funding in advancing their projects. He emphasized that the financial backing enables the company to continue its planned progression in developing innovative cancer therapies.

The company is making notable advances with two of its leading anti-cancer programs, INV441 and INV501, in collaboration with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), under the guidance of Dr. David Reardon. Dr. Reardon is a prominent figure in brain cancer research and treatment, serving as the Clinical Director at the Center for Neuro-Oncology at DFCI and a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Romana Gugenberger, PhD, Chief Medical and Scientific Officer at invIOs, expressed excitement about the progress of their joint efforts with DFCI. She highlighted that their work on oral small molecule candidate INV501 and cell therapy candidate INV441 represents significant steps toward addressing unmet needs in treating aggressive tumors such as glioblastoma.

INV501 is an innovative orally administered small molecule that has demonstrated promising preclinical results in breast cancer and melanoma models. The candidate has shown the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and trigger immune responses against tumors. IND-enabling toxicology studies are currently underway, with target validation and detailed mechanism of action expected to be disclosed in the first quarter of 2025.

INV441 is a cell therapy utilizing tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) modified with siRNA to inhibit the immune checkpoint Cbl-b. This approach has shown strong preclinical proof of concept in animal models of glioma. The company recently filed important intellectual property protections for this program and completed a pre-IND meeting with the US FDA. The feedback from the FDA has been constructive, and a Phase 1 clinical trial is anticipated to commence in mid-2025, managed by DFCI.

Additionally, invIOs' management team, including CEO Peter Llewellyn-Davies and Chief Medical and Scientific Officer Romana Gugenberger, will participate in the LSX Inv€$tival Showcase™ in London on November 18th. They will present the company and hold one-on-one meetings at this key industry event.

invIOs is committed to advancing its pipeline of cancer therapies, leveraging their expertise in immune system activation to develop novel treatments for solid tumors. Their portfolio includes small molecule and cell therapy approaches, with INV501 and INV441 being their leading programs. INV501 aims to enhance T cell-mediated immune responses against tumors and is in preclinical testing with robust data supporting its efficacy. The company's proprietary cell therapy platform, EPiC, facilitates rapid, localized treatment of patients using fresh immune cells, and has shown early clinical success with APN401. INV441, another product from the EPiC platform, is being developed for glioblastoma, while INV451 is a novel CAR-T cell therapy for lung cancer, developed in collaboration with the Medical University of Innsbruck.

Overall, invIOs continues to make significant strides in the field of cancer therapy, with strong financial support and strategic collaborations driving their innovative research and development efforts.