Nouscom, a Basel-based clinical-stage immuno-oncology company, has raised 67.5 million euros in a Series C financing round. The round was led by Andera Partners, Bpifrance (through its InnoBio 2 fund) and M Ventures. Other new and existing investors also participated. As part of this financing, representatives of Andera Partners, Bpifrance and M Ventures were appointed to Nouscom’s Board of Directors, according to a statement.
The biotech company, located in Basel's Bäumleingasse, is developing standardized and personalized cancer vaccines based on viral vectors targeting neoantigens. According to the statement, the fresh capital will be used to advance Nouscom's clinical pipeline to the most important clinical endpoints. These include a Phase 2 trial for the treatment of colorectal cancer, an ongoing Phase 1b trial for cancer prophylaxis in Lynch Syndrome carriers, and the completion of a Phase 1b trial for personalized cancer immunotherapy in various indications.
If positive, the Phase 2 data for the NOUS-209 vaccine, which simultaneously targets 209 neoantigens, “have the potential to position Nouscom's neoantigen-based cancer vaccines amongst the most thrilling developments in the field,” commented Nouscom CEO Dr. Marina Udier in the statement. Dr. Sofia Ioannidou, Partner at Andera Partners, believes that the “robustness of the clinical results generated so far positions Nouscom as one of the leading biotech companies in the neoantigen cancer vaccine space”.
