Anaveon Secures CHF 35 Million Series A Financing from Syncona and Novartis Venture Fund to Advance Novel IL-2-Based Cancer Immunotherapies

VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) has learned that Anaveon, a startup biomedical company headquartered in the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland, secured CHF 35 million (approximately USD 35 million) in Series A financing on February 26, 2019. The round was led by Syncona (LON: SYNC), with participation from the Novartis Venture Fund, and aims to support Anaveon’s preclinical studies on anti-tumor immune responses. Following the completion of the financing, Syncona will hold a 47% stake in Anaveon, and the Novartis Venture Fund will secure a seat on Anaveon’s Board of Directors.

Previously, as an independent startup, Anaveon utilized seed funding from the UZH Life Sciences Fund and Basel Area to refine its early-stage development. Meanwhile, the launch of Swiss Base Launch’s medical acceleration program enabled Anaveon to scale its projects to a broader platform, attracting larger institutional investors to commit greater capital for its future growth.

Anaveon is a spin-off company of the University of Zurich, which began operations in late 2017. The company was founded based on the research findings of Onur Boyman. Boyman was the first to demonstrate that the direction of interleukin-2 (IL-2) activity changes within the human body. His work forms part of an evidence base that includes clinical data dating back several decades. This evidence indicates that interleukin-2-based therapies can improve outcomes for diseases such as melanoma and renal cell carcinoma.

Higher doses of interleukin-2 can produce better efficacy, but lead to the leakage of fluid and protein from capillaries.

This adverse effect is known as capillary leak syndrome, which induces symptoms resembling septic shock and concurrently limits the efficacy of interleukin-2. Thus, the short half-life of interleukin-2 also constitutes a pharmaceutical obstacle.

Onur Boyman and former Novartis employee Andreas Katopodis co-founded Anaveon, driven by their belief that research can overcome the therapeutic hurdles associated with interleukin-2. Prior to establishing Anaveon, Boyman collaborated with Katopodis’s research group at Novartis to develop an antibody. In Anaveon’s preclinical development studies, researchers have found that this antibody enhances the beneficial effects of interleukin-2 on cytotoxic effector cells while avoiding unnecessary stimulation of immunosuppressive regulatory T cells.

“The compound, as an adjuvant, can enhance anti-tumor immune responses. Preclinical evidence shows that it demonstrates significant efficacy in various tumor treatment models, whether used as monotherapy or in combination,” the Katopodis research group also stated in a press release. “Anaveon’s new product holds promise for achieving therapeutic breakthroughs based on existing technologies.”

Syncona is a venture capital group established in 2012 with an initial capital of £200 million. Syncona aims to drive the development of gene therapy companies and immuno-oncology startups, primarily investing in UK-based firms.

Novartis Venture Fund, established in 1996, is a venture capital firm focused on the life sciences sector. It is dedicated to identifying companies that demonstrate genuine innovative spirit, have the potential to deliver significant benefits to patients, and possess excellent management and capital efficiency. The fund currently manages over $800 million in assets.

(Compiled by Ning Chen)