Vicebio raises $100m for vaccines and other bio financings

Our periodic round-up of financings in the biotech sector is led by an impressive nine-figure round for UK vaccines developer Vicebio, with GC Therapeutics, Genespire, and 858 Therapeutics also in on the action.

London, UK-based Vicebio raised $100 million in a Series B that will help to fund the development of its Molecular Clamp technology to produce improved, more potent vaccines that are simpler to manufacture.

The round – led by new backer TCGX and supported by Goldman Sachs Alternatives, Avoro Ventures, venBio, UniQuest, and founding investor Medicxi – will go in part towards clinical testing of Vicebio's lead vaccine VXB-241 for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human metapneumovirus (hMPV), which is in phase 1 with preliminary results due next year. Both RSV and hMPV cause respiratory disease in people with weaker immune systems, such as the elderly.

The Molecular Clamp platform stabilises viral glycoprotein antigens in a 'pre-fusion' state – i.e., before they enter a host cell – which, according to the company, stimulates a stronger immune response. The vaccines are also easier to make and multivalent shots can be formulated in prefilled syringes, said Vicebio chief executive Emmanuel Hanon, who was formerly GSK's vaccine chief.

New Cambridge, Massachusetts biotech GC Therapeutics has launched with $65 million in first-round funding for its 'plug-and-play' cell therapy platform, which uses induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to generate off-the-shelf treatments that are easy to manufacture at scale – in a fraction of the time it takes with current technologies.

The company's TFome technology uses transcription factors to programme iPSCs into generating cell therapies by controlling the genes that are active in them. Its initial focus will be on gastrointestinal, neurological, and immunological diseases, but there's no indication yet when lead therapies may be ready for clinical testing.

The round, led by Cormorant Asset Management with participation from Mubadala Capital, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) Bio + Health, Medical Excellence Capital, Cercano Management, and Pear VC, brings the total capital raised by the start-up to $75 million.

Italian start-up Genespire will use the proceeds of a €46.6 million ($52 million) second-round financing to continue the development of its GENE202 gene therapy for the rare metabolic disorder methylmalonic acidaemia (MMA), currently being prepared for phase 1/2 testing, and preclinical work on other gene therapy candidates.

MMA is a devastating genetic disorder that causes impairment in the metabolism of certain amino acids and fats, leading to muscular weakness, seizures, developmental delays, and organ damage. There are no disease-modifying treatments for the disease, and GENE202 is being positioned as an off-the-shelf, paediatric therapy that engineers liver cells to produce methylmalonyl-CoA mutase (MUT), an enzyme deficient in MMA, after intravenous dosing.

The round was co-led by Sofinnova Partners, XGEN Venture, and CDP Venture Capital through its Large Venture Fund in a syndicate with Indaco SGR.

San Diego biotech 858 Therapeutics raised $50 million in a Series B financing led by Avidity Partners that will be used to advance its pipeline of small molecule therapeutics led by ETX-19477, a selective inhibitor of the DNA repair protein PARG that is currently being evaluated in a phase 1 trial involving around 48 patients with advanced solid tumours.

Pharmacological inhibition of PARG results in hyperPARylation, which leads to the death of cancer cells undergoing replication stress, according to the company. Results of the phase 1 study are due next year and, once a recommended dose is identified, 858 intends to start a tumour- and biomarker-focused phase 2 programme.

Insight Partners, Mirae Asset Capital, and Alexandria Venture Investments also participated in the round, as did existing investors Versant Ventures, NEA, and Logos Capital.