Israel’s NeoTx Raises $45M For Cancer Immunotherapy Treatment

Israeli cancer immunotherapy company NeoTx Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology firm with a proprietary Selective T cell Redirection (STR) platform to develop targeted anti-cancer immunotherapies, has closed a $45 million Series C funding round, the company announced Wednesday.

NeoTX says it plans to use the financing to advance its STR platform for the treatment of advanced and metastatic solid tumors as well as to license new technologies.

San Francisco-based Tako Ventures Investments, South Korean-listed NDFOS Co., Maurice Greenberg, the former CEO of NYSE-listed AIG, and chairman, and former vice chairman of The Blackstone Group J. Tomilson Hill participated in the round, according to CTech by Calcalist.

Founded in 2014, Rehovot-based NeoTX uses its Selective T cell Redirection (STR) technology to foster a more effective antibacterial immune response against cancer tumors. The STR binds genetically engineered bacteria to tumor cells and simultaneously activates the antibacterial response of distant immune cells.

The company’s lead STR molecule is naptumomab estafenatox (Nap), a fusion protein that binds to an antigen expressed by different tumor cells.

The company has raised over $60 million to date.

“With the funds raised in this financing, we intend to complete the dose escalation phase of the Phase 1b trial of naptumomab estafenatox (“Nap”) in combination with durvalumab and continue to develop our patented STR platform,” said Asher Nathan, CEO of NeoTX. “Our platform, which uniquely leverages the body’s natural antibacterial immune response to selectively redirect T cells to kill the tumor, has the potential to be applicable in a variety of solid tumor indications and in combination with other immunotherapies.”

“We look forward to the clinical advancement of Nap and expanding our platform in order to provide new options to patients suffering from advanced cancers,” said Nathan.