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Novartis, Zurich University Spin-out Anaveon Tackles IL-2 Challenges With Fresh Funds

 
• By Eleanor Malone

Syncona and Novartis Venture Fund have invested CHF35m in Anaveon, which reckons it can overcome the toxicity and half-life limitations of the cytokine interleukin-2 to enhance the body’s immune response to tumors.

Boyman_Onur
Andreas Katopodis (l) and Onur Boyman (r) • Source: Shutterstock

Only a little over a year after its founding, Anaveon has completed a CHF35m series A financing to advance selective interleukin-2 (IL-2) receptor agonists from preclinical studies into the clinic.

Set up by two immunotherapy experts, Onur Boyman, professor and chair in the department of immunology at the University of Zurich, and Andreas Katopodis, formerly director of the autoimmunity, transplantation and inflammation group in the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR), Anaveon aims to develop compounds to

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More from Financing

Finance Watch: Deerfield Closes $600m-Plus VC Fund; Gates Speeds Up Health Investments

 
• By Mandy Jackson

Private Company Edition: Deerfield’s third innovations fund will back therapeutics and other opportunities, the Gates Foundation – a sometimes funder of biotech firms – will spend $200bn over the next 20 years, and NewLimit raised a $130m series B round, among other financings.

HAYA Raises $65m To Take First Long Non-Coding RNA Program Into The Clinic

 
• By Mandy Jackson

HTX-001 targeting the long non-coding RNA known as Wisper is being developed for non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. HAYA partnered with Lilly last year in obesity.

Sanofi R&D Head’s Words Of Wisdom For Biotechs

 
• By Kevin Grogan

Houman Ashrafian tells delegates at Swiss Biotech Day that ‘literally only two things matter in our industry – target credentialing and differentiated pharmacology. The rest is execution.’

Switzerland Biopharma To Stay Strong Despite More Cash Going To US And China

 
• By Kevin Grogan

The sector is continuing to show resilience despite financial and market challenges.

More from Business

Finance Watch: Deerfield Closes $600m-Plus VC Fund; Gates Speeds Up Health Investments

 
• By Mandy Jackson

Private Company Edition: Deerfield’s third innovations fund will back therapeutics and other opportunities, the Gates Foundation – a sometimes funder of biotech firms – will spend $200bn over the next 20 years, and NewLimit raised a $130m series B round, among other financings.

Pharma Left Hanging After US/UK Trade Pact

 
• By Kevin Grogan

An ‘historic economic prosperity deal’ does not include the sector.

Viatris Will File ‘Fast-Acting’ Meloxicam For FDA Approval This Year

 
• By Joseph Haas

Seven years after acquiring it, Viatris will seek approval of a meloxicam formulation for acute pain backed by data from two Phase III studies in post-surgical pain settings.