– UK, Oxford – Theolytics, a UK biotech harnessing viruses to combat cancer, today announced the closing of a £5 million Series A round co-led by Epidarex Capital and Taiho Ventures LLC with participation from existing investor, Oxford Sciences Innovation.
Dr. Kenneth Powell, Chair of the Board welcomed Henning Steinhagen, Venture Partner at Epidarex, and Sakae Asanuma, President at Taiho Ventures as new Board members.
Dr. Kenneth Powell said: “I look forward to working with our new investors to bring these promising approaches to cancer patients.”
The financing will be used to progress the company’s pipeline of candidates towards human clinical trials.
Theolytics is focused on creating a step-change in the oncolytic viral therapy field, by using its phenotypic screening platform to discover and develop highly efficacious, targeted candidates, suitable for intravenous delivery and optimized for a chosen cancer patient population.
“Oncolytic viruses represent a unique therapeutic paradigm within oncology. Theolytics’ platform technology enables a fundamental shift in what is possible; combining the power of bio selection with a patient-centric approach to drug discovery, we are able to address many of the challenges that have prevented the field from delivering on its full potential. Our team is committed to discovering and developing candidates for some of the most challenging cancers, and I’m delighted that Epidarex and Taiho Ventures have chosen to support us on our journey.” said CEO, Charlotte Casebourne.
Henning Steinhagen, Venture Partner at Epidarex Capital said, “The oncolytic viral therapy field continues to gain momentum and Theolytics caught our eye with their highly promising indication-specific bio selection platform. Theolytics combines multiple key features we are looking for when investing: world-class science, highly driven innovators, and disruptive technology that has the potential to generate a strong pipeline of proprietary and significantly more efficacious therapeutics. We look forward to supporting Theolytics in leveraging its innovative platform to establish a pipeline of patient-centric next-generation oncolytic viruses, which promises to dramatically improve the treatment of cancer.”
Sakae Asanuma, President at Taiho Ventures, LLC, the corporate venture arm of Taiho Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., said, “Taiho is delighted to co-lead this Series A financing and work with Theolytics to deliver the innovative oncolytic virotherapy generated by their unique proprietary platform technology, which should provide cancer patients with the promise of dramatically improving clinical outcomes.”
About Theolytics
Theolytics is focused on developing category changing cancer therapies in the form of oncolytic viruses. The company is pioneering a phenotypic screening approach to the discovery and development of efficacious, targeted candidates suitable for intravenous delivery and optimized for a chosen patient population. Theolytics, which was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Oxford, UK, is backed by Oxford Science Innovation and international life sciences investors Epidarex Capital and Taiho Ventures, LLC.
For more information: https://www.theolytics.com/
About Epidarex Capital
Epidarex Capital is a transatlantic venture capital firm with a track record of building exceptional life science companies in emerging hubs in the US and UK. Epidarex’s experienced team of early-stage investors partner with entrepreneurs and leading research institutions to transform world-class science into highly innovative products addressing major unmet needs in the global healthcare market.
For more information: https://epidarex.com/
About Taiho Ventures, LLC
Taiho Ventures, LLC is the corporate venture arm of Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., a Japanese specialty pharmaceutical company focusing on oncology, allergy and immunology, and urology. With $300M under management, we are actively investing in early-stage innovative companies strategically relevant to Taiho Pharmaceutical. We consider company creation, spinouts, and the option-type of investments as well as pure equity investments.
For more information: http://taihoventures.com/
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