Bright Peak Therapeutics Announces $90 Million in Series C Financing to Advance First-in-Class PD1-IL18 Immunoconjugate Program Into Clinical Trials
-- Lead Program, BPT567, will be the first PD1-IL18 immunoconjugate to enter the clinic; Phase 1/2a study in solid tumors expected to begin in 2H 2024 –
-- Financing led by Johnson & Johnson with participation by new and existing investors--
BASEL, Switzerland and SAN DIEGO, June 11, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - Bright Peak Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing next-generation, multifunctional immunotherapies, today announced that it raised $90 million in a Series C financing. The round was led by Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, with participation from additional new investors Venrock, KB Investment, and Northleaf Capital Partners. Existing investors participating in the round include founding investor Versant Ventures along with Fidelity Management & Research Company, RA Capital Management, Qatar Investment Authority, Invus, Alexandria Venture Investments, and an undisclosed leading healthcare investment fund.
Proceeds from the Series C financing will be used to advance BPT567 into a Phase 1/2a clinical trial and accelerate a pipeline of next-generation immunotherapies. BPT567 is a first-in-class PD1-IL18 immunoconjugate designed to provide simultaneous blockade of the PD(L)-1 checkpoint pathway and targeted delivery of IL-18 signaling.
In preclinical models, BPT567 induced profound synergistic anti-tumor activity by blocking PD-1 and specifically targeting the potent proinflammatory effects of IL-18 to effector T cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME) with more limited activation of immune cells in the periphery.
“We are now well positioned to bring much needed innovation to the field of anti-PD-1 immune-checkpoint inhibition and look forward to advancing our lead program into the clinic later this year across multiple tumor types” said Fredrik Wiklund, Chief Executive Officer of Bright Peak.
“This capital raise provides financial flexibility to bring new therapeutic modalities to patients with cancer and we’re delighted to have attracted the confidence of a global pharmaceutical company and strong support from such a distinguished syndicate of leading life sciences investors.”
About Bright Peak Therapeutics
Bright Peak Therapeutics is a biotechnology company advancing a portfolio of multifunctional immunotherapies to treat cancer and other diseases. We leverage our world class protein engineering capabilities and our proprietary chemical protein synthesis and conjugation platform to discover and develop first-in-class novel protein therapeutics. Bright Peak is based in Basel, Switzerland and San Diego, CA and is funded by a syndicate of leading healthcare investors. For more information, please visit www.brightpeaktx.com
Contact:
info@brightpeaktx.com