Genenta Science Secures €13.2M Series C Financing to Advance Two Oncology Clinical Trials

On September 12, 2019, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media reports that Genenta Science (Genenta) had completed a €13.2 million Series C financing round, bringing the company’s total fundraising to over €30 million since its inception.

This round of financing was led by Qianzhan Investment Management and Fidim, with follow-on investments from the Bormioli and Fumagalli families. Upon closing, both Qianzhan and Fidim will appoint observer members to Genenta’s Board of Directors. Qianzhan Investment is represented by Dr. Jing Liu, M.D., who oversees biotechnology venture capital investments at the firm, while Fidim is represented by Lucio Rovati, CEO and CSO of Rottapharm Biotech.

Genenta plans to use the proceeds from this financing round to advance its two Phase I/II clinical trials: one evaluating the efficacy of its stem cell therapy, Temferon, in treating multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer, and the other assessing Temferon’s efficacy in treating glioblastoma multiforme, a solid tumor. The funds will also be allocated to preparing for Temferon’s clinical trials in the United States.

Genenta is a clinical-stage biotechnology company headquartered in Milan, Italy, dedicated to developing hematopoietic stem cell gene therapies for cancer.

Genenta extracts and genetically modifies bone marrow stem cells from patients to produce a chemical substance called interferon-alpha, which can activate other immune cells in the patient’s body. Genenta transforms these stem cells into immune cells known as tumor-infiltrating monocytes and implants them into the patient’s tumor, thereby activating the patient’s immune system to destroy cancer cells.

Qianzhan Investment is a Shanghai-based investment firm founded by seasoned professionals from China’s investment community and staffed by experts with extensive backgrounds in investment banking and equity research. Its business scope covers futures, securities, and primary market investments. Currently, Qianzhan manages a fund worth RMB 5 billion. The company focuses on investing in biotechnology and IT startups in China, the United States, and Europe. Qianzhan was one of the early investors in Tencent Music. Its pharmaceutical portfolio companies include Wuhan Hait Bio-Pharmaceutical, Capella Therapeutics, and Suoyuan Biopharma.

Fidim is the holding company of the Rovati family. The family were the former owners of Rottapharm, a pharmaceutical company whose commercial business was later acquired by Meda for €2.2 billion. Fidim retained Rottapharm’s R&D operations, which continue to operate under the name Rottapharm Biotech.

(Compiled by Tian Shuhang)