Accession Therapeutics Secures Seed Funding Led by Primavera Ventures and Birk Venture to Advance TROCEPT Platform for Solid Tumor Immunotherapy

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that Accession Therapeutics, a novel immuno-oncology company headquartered in Oxford, UK, has announced the completion of its first round of financing. The round was co-led by Primavera Venture Capital and Birk Venture, with Zou Ling, Co-Head of Primavera Venture Capital, joining the company’s Board of Directors. Accession Therapeutics stated that the proceeds will be used to advance its TROCEPT platform into clinical trials. The company also plans to gradually build a pipeline of therapies for various cancers with unmet clinical needs, including pancreatic cancer and gastric cancer.

Zou Ling, Co-Head of Primavera Ventures, stated, “Primavera Ventures is delighted to have incubated and led the investment in Accession Therapeutics since its inception. This startup demonstrates technological foresight, and its founding team possesses not only exceptional industry expertise but also strong execution capabilities and an unyielding spirit of exploration.”

Dr. Bent Jakobsen, CEO of Accession Therapeutics, is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (UK) and a Visiting Professor at the University of Oxford. Previously, Dr. Jakobsen founded Adaptimmune and Immunocore, both publicly listed on the NASDAQ, and is a pioneer and leading figure in T-cell receptor therapy for cancer. Meanwhile, the founding team of Accession Therapeutics hails from publicly listed biopharmaceutical companies, with nearly 20 years of industry experience. The team has successfully advanced more than ten products to Investigational New Drug (IND) application or early-stage clinical trials.

Accession Therapeutics believes that an ideal immunotherapy should possess three characteristics: high tumor specificity, the ability to broadly kill all cancer cells within the tumor, and the efficacy to potently activate the entire immune system. The TROCEPT platform developed by Accession Therapeutics is poised to meet all three requirements simultaneously.

Dr. Bent Jakobsen, CEO of Accession Therapeutics, stated, “Over the past decade, we have witnessed the promise of harnessing the immune system to fight cancer. However, in most cases, current therapeutic concepts fail to address the heterogeneity of cancer cells. Leveraging the TROCEPT platform, we have designed novel therapies that hold the potential to fundamentally tackle the multifaceted challenges posed by cancer cell diversity and escape mechanisms. We extend our gratitude to our investors and look forward to collaborating with them.”

“Accession Therapeutics offers a unique solution that can bring about revolutionary changes in the treatment of solid tumors within a relatively limited timeframe,” said Zou Ling, Co-Head of Primavera Capital Group. Accession Therapeutics represents a significant investment by Primavera Capital Group in the innovative drug sector. In this field, Primavera Capital Group will continue to focus on two core areas: first, novel therapies such as oncolytic viruses, gene therapy, RNA-based therapeutics, and PROTACs; and second, new technologies, such as the integration of AI with multi-omics medical data, which will substantially reduce costs and improve efficiency, thereby truly promoting the sustainable development of the pharmaceutical industry.

This marks the first time that Primavera Ventures has incubated a biopharmaceutical company since its establishment. Going forward, while continuing to focus on cutting-edge technologies, Primavera Ventures will also move further “upstream” into earlier stages, dedicating itself to incubating, supporting, and integrating high-quality technical teams with a global perspective.