On March 16, 2022 KaliVir Immunotherapeutics, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of leading-edge oncolytic vaccinia virus immunotherapies, reported the closing of its Series A financing (Press release, KaliVir Immunotherapeutics, MAR 16, 2022, View Source [SID1234610194]). Proceeds from the financing will be used to support internal programs with the priority of advancing the company’s lead product candidate into development.
Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:
Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing
Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!
The Series A financing was completed with a syndicate of top-tier venture capital firms from South Korea and was led by Premier Partners LLC, one of the leading VCs in South Korea, which has a partnership with ARCH Venture Partners headquartered in Chicago. Other participating VCs included Company K Partners and Quad Investment Management.
"We are pleased to have validation from the syndicate of premier venture capital firms that participated in this round of financing," stated KaliVir’s CEO, Helena Chaye, Ph.D., J.D. "This financing represents an important strategic milestone for us and has enabled us to expedite the internal development of our lead candidate toward an IND (Investigational New Drug) application."
"We are proud to be a part of this successful financing and to support the cutting-edge science that is happening at KaliVir on a daily basis," stated Steve Moon, Ph.D., Partner and Head of BIO Division at Premier Partners. "We are very optimistic about the future of KaliVir’s multi-mechanistic immuno-oncology therapies and believe that these product candidates could have a dramatic impact on the future treatment of cancer."
KaliVir’s Vaccinia Enhanced Template (VET) Platform
KaliVir has developed a potent, novel oncolytic platform called the VET Platform. This platform includes multiple proprietary genetic modifications that can be combined to generate a unique oncolytic virus that has been optimized for systemic delivery and expression of therapeutic transgenes in the tumor. VET Platform mechanisms can include immune modulations to specifically enhance anti-tumoral immunity. It is designed to enhance systemic (IV) delivery capabilities, tumor-targeted replication, viral spread to metastatic tumors and viral spread within tumor microenvironment. VET Platform serves as a best-in-class and versatile viral backbone on which tailored transgene programs are being developed. It is also highly synergistic with other immunotherapeutic modalities such as immune checkpoint blockade, and is well-positioned to be quickly moved forward in clinical development.