Catalym secures 138 million euros (150 million US dollars) in a Series D funding round. The oversubscribed funding round was led by new investors Canaan Partners and Bioqube Ventures and supported by Forbion’s Growth Opportunities Fund, Omega Funds, and Gilde Healthcare. Existing investors Jeito Capital, Brandon Capital Partners, Novartis Venture Fund, and Vesalius Biocapital III also participated in the round. The fresh capital is intended to finance the Phase 2b development of Visugromab for treating various types of cancer.
The drug candidate Visugromab is designed to neutralize a specific protein that tumors use to protect themselves from the immune system. This would make tumors accessible to the immune system again, which should strengthen immune response. Phil L’Huillier, managing director and chief executive officer at Catalym, comments on the current funding round:
“This substantial capital increase and strong syndicate are a recognition of our achievements as a company and underscore the excellent results of Visugromab and our broad-based clinical Phase 2b program. We continue to demonstrate the potential of Visugromab to achieve deep and durable cancer remission across various solid tumor indications, underscoring the important role Visugromab could play in novel cancer therapy. We are building significant momentum for Catalym’s development strategy and look forward to the support of these high-caliber new and existing international investors who share our vision of breaking through immunosuppressive barriers to improve therapeutic outcomes.”
In connection with the closing of the financing, Colleen Cuffaro, partner at Canaan, Jon Edwards, managing partner at Bioqube Ventures, and Otello Stampacchia, managing director and founder at Omega Funds, will join Catalym’s board of directors. Stefan Luzi, partner at Gilde Healthcare, will join the board as an observer. Colleen Cuffaro, partner at Canaan Partners, says:
“The data recently presented at ASCO underscores the highly differentiated therapeutic profile of Visugromab and confirms Phil and his team’s ability to execute the company’s clinical plan expeditiously. As the company enters expanded Phase 2b development, we look forward to providing our strategic guidance for the company’s path to transforming current treatment approaches for difficult-to-treat solid tumor indications.”
