Cold Genesys Secures $22 Million Series C Financing to Advance Oncolytic Immunotherapy CG0070

VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) learned from foreign media that on March 18 (U.S. local time), Cold Genesys, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Santa Ana, California, announced the completion of a $22 million Series C financing round. The proceeds will be used to accelerate the company’s clinical trial programs and continue advancing CG0070, its oncolytic immunotherapy.

It is reported that this round of financing was led by ORI Healthcare Fund, with participation from Perseverance Capital Management.

Cold Genesys is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company focused on developing oncolytic immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer. Led by Chief Executive Officer Arthur Kuan, the company benefits from his extensive professional experience, having held key positions at several healthcare investment firms, including Ally Bridge Group, Themes Investment Partners, and Dinova Capital.

Cold Genesys primarily has two clinical programs: CG0070 and CG0161. Among them, CG0070 is a cancer-selective oncolytic immunotherapy designed to treat high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), including in patients who are unresponsive to bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) therapy. Currently, CG0070 has completed Phase II clinical trials, demonstrating the safety and efficacy of the therapy in over one hundred trial participants.

It is worth noting that CG0070 was not originally developed by Cold Genesys. In 2010, Cold Genesys obtained the global license for CG0070 from BioSante Pharmaceuticals. Currently, Cold Genesys is actively exploring immune checkpoint modulators (ICMs) that can be combined with CG0070 to enhance the efficacy of oncolytic immunotherapy.

CG0161 is the first immune checkpoint modulator explored by Cold Genesys; it is an anti-CTLA-4 antibody. Currently, CG0161 has just completed IND-enabling studies, and Cold Genesys is planning to advance it into clinical trials.

Arthur Kuan stated, “Cold Genesys has entered a critical phase, with the new round of financing underscoring investors’ recognition of our work in oncolytic immunotherapy. Over the past year, we have also made significant progress, as Cold Genesys partnered with Merck to evaluate the anticancer efficacy of combining KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) with CG0070. Cold Genesys will accelerate the development of therapies for bladder cancer and other solid tumors.”

Simone Song, Senior Partner at ORI Healthcare Fund, stated, “We firmly believe that oncolytic immunotherapy can be harnessed to combat cancer. We have observed that Cold Genesys has completed its Phase II study for NMIBC, giving us reason to believe that Cold Genesys can address current unmet medical needs. Furthermore, we hope that Cold Genesys will leverage its expertise in oncolytic immunotherapy to benefit patients with various types of solid tumors.”

Cold Genesys was founded in 2010 and has completed three rounds of financing to date, including the current round. Previously, on July 29, 2014, it closed a $13.6 million Series A financing round led by Ally Bridge Group; subsequently, on August 5, 2015, it completed a $10 million Series B financing round co-led by Ally Bridge Group and WI Harper Group.

ORI Healthcare Fund is a $200 million venture capital fund focused on investing in innovative companies with disruptive technologies in the global healthcare industry. The fund was founded by Ms. Simone Song, a former investment banker and former Head of Healthcare for Goldman Sachs China. The team consists primarily of former Goldman Sachs bankers and healthcare scientists.

Perseverance Capital Management is an asset management firm that primarily employs an evidence-based investment approach to invest in companies within the healthcare sector. The firm actively collaborates with the management teams of its portfolio companies to help them establish market leadership.

(Compiled by Wang Chan)