On October 31, 2019 Tmunity Therapeutics, in pursuit of its vision to save and improve lives by delivering the full potential of next-generation T-cell immunotherapy, reported that it closed a $75 million Series B financing (Press release, Tmunity Therapeutics, OCT 31, 2019, View Source [SID1234550201]). The financing was led by Andreessen Horowitz (also known as "a16z"), a venture capital firm that backs bold entrepreneurs building the future through technology and includes participation from a16z’s Cultural Leadership Fund. Joining the Series B financing are Westlake Village BioPartners, Gilead Sciences, The University of Pennsylvania, Be The Match BioTherapies and BrightEdge, the philanthropic impact fund of the American Cancer Society.
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The proceeds from the Series B will continue to fund ongoing and planned research, clinical development of product candidates, the continued build-out of the Company’s proprietary, vertically-integrated viral vector and cell therapy product manufacturing, working capital and other general purposes. Since inception, Tmunity has raised $231 million.
"We are fortunate to be funded by impressive investors who share our commitment to patients and our vision to dramatically change the way cancer is treated," said Usman "Oz" Azam, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tmunity. "We see ourselves leading the innovation of the future of oncology treatment by uniting our foundational competences in cell therapy with expertise in building new constructs, translating them and getting them into the clinic."
As part of the Series B financing, Jorge Conde, General Partner at a16z, will join the Company’s Board of Directors. Mr. Conde leads a16z’s investments that are at the cross section of biology, computer science and engineering.
"To win the war on cancer, we need smarter weapons. Tmunity’s founders Carl June and Bruce Levine invented CAR-T, one of the most profound breakthroughs against cancer in recent history. Together with Oz Azam, who with his team, brought the first CAR-T therapy to market, the company has built a pioneering platform that has produced an unrivaled therapeutic pipeline with programs already in human clinical trials for both solid and liquid tumors. This is the dream team to deliver on the bold and promising mission to cure disease using engineered T-cells," said Conde.