Kleo Pharmaceuticals Secures $21 Million Series B Financing to Advance Novel Small Molecule Cancer Immunotherapies

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that on November 13, 2018 (U.S. local time), Kleo Pharmaceuticals Inc. (hereinafter referred to as “Kleo”), an immuno-oncology company that pioneered a novel class of bispecific small-molecule compounds, announced the completion of its oversubscribed $21 million Series B financing round. The round was led by PeptiDream (Tokyo Stock Exchange code: 4587), Kleo’s development partner, with participation from strategic investor Biohaven Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NYSE ticker: BHVN).

This round of funding will be used to advance Kleo’s first drug candidate through IND-enabling studies, with a target market entry in 2020.

Kleo was founded by Dr. David Spiegel in 2015 and is headquartered in New Haven, Connecticut, USA. The company was established to translate Dr. Spiegel’s immunotherapy research conducted at Yale University into clinical treatments. Kleo advances immunotherapy by developing small molecules that mimic biologics, specifically utilizing innovative Antibody Recruiting Molecules (ARMs) and Synthetic Antibody Mimetics (SyAMs) to direct patients’ own immune systems against specific pathogenic cells. Due to their significantly lower molecular weight compared to therapeutic antibodies, these targeted therapies offer clinicians a safer, more effective, and simpler alternative to protein-based treatment solutions.

Recruiting Antibody Molecules (ARMs) Image source: Kleo official website

Kleo’s first drug candidate was developed based on the company’s modular Antibody Recruiting Molecules (ARMs) technology. ARMs are bifunctional molecules composed of two linked active heads: one, known as the Antibody-Binding Terminus (ABT), attaches to an antibody; the other, known as the Target-Binding Terminus (TBT), binds to disease cells targeted for destruction. The uniqueness of this technology lies in its ability to redirect the activity of any ARM-bound antibody against cancer cells without inhibiting the antibody’s inherent functions. Similar to biologics, it leverages the patient’s own immune system to combat disease. However, as small molecules, ARMs offer inherent non-immunogenicity and a broader biological scope, while being relatively easier to store, manufacture, and deliver via non-intravenous routes.

Working Principle of ARM. Image source: Kleo official website

Meanwhile, Kleo is also continuing to advance its other two immuno-oncology therapeutic platforms—Synthetic Antibody Mimics (SyAMs) and Monoclonal Antibody Therapeutic Enhancers (MATEs).

Kleo, founded in 2015 and headquartered in New Haven, Connecticut, is an immuno-oncology company. Kleo has pioneered a novel class of bispecific small-molecule compounds designed to mimic or enhance the effects of anticancer biologics.

PeptiDream (TOKYO: 4587), founded in 2006 and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a biopharmaceutical company. The company employs its proprietary, highly versatile Peptide Discovery Platform System (PDPS), which efficiently generates highly diverse (trillion-scale) libraries of non-standard peptides and effectively identifies and selects peptide candidates for the development of peptide-based therapeutics, as well as small molecule and peptide-drug conjugate treatments.