Abcuro announces $155 million Series B financing

Clinical stage biotech company Abcuro, Inc. has announced the close of a $155 million (£121 million) Series B financing co-led by Redmile Group and Bain Capital Life Sciences.

Abcuro is developing first-in-class immunotherapies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and cancer through precise modulation of highly cytotoxic T and NK cells.

Abcuro will use the proceeds from the financing to complete a Phase 2/3 registrational clinical trial evaluating ABC008 –  a monoclonal antibody targeting killer cell lectin like receptor G1 (KLRG1), for the treatment of inclusion body myositis (IBM).

Abcuro CEO, Alex Martin, said:

“Support from such a strong group of investors will allow us to complete our development programmes in diseases where there are few to no treatment options available.

“We are very motivated by the patients we serve and are excited by the clinical data we’ve seen to date.

“We’re committed to executing on our clinical trials including our registrational trial in inclusion body myositis.”

The Company will also focus on completing a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of ABC008 in T cell large granular lymphocytic leukaemia (T-LGLL), as well as initiating a Phase 1/2 clinical trial in T and NK cell lymphomas.

Abcuro Chief Medical Officer, H. Jeffrey Wilkins, M.D., said:

“IBM, like other autoimmune diseases, is progressive and devastating for patients.

“Targeting the depletion of cytotoxic T cells that express KLRG1 with ABC008 is a novel approach that has generated exciting early data in patients with IBM.

“These data are also supportive of using ABC008 in other diseases like T-LGLL in which cytotoxic T cells are pathogenic, and mature T and NK cell lymphomas in which KLRG1 expressing cells are malignant.

“We look forward to further advancing these programmes in the clinic.”