T3 Pharma raises 25M CHF to advance bacterial cancer therapy through clinic

• Proceeds will support clinical development of lead program, T3P-Y058-739, poised to enter clinical trials in 2021

BASEL, Switzerland–(BUSINESS WIRE)–T3 Pharmaceuticals AG (“T3 Pharma”), a Swiss biotech advancing immuno-oncology with its bacteria-based protein delivery platform, today announced the closing of its third financing round, raising over 25M CHF.

The financing was co-led by existing investors, including the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund (BIVF), Reference Capital SA, Wille Finance AG and private investors, who all participated in the round. This latest financing brings T3 Pharma’s total funding since the launch of the Company in 2015 to 40 million CHF.

T3 Pharma will use the funds primarily to progress its lead candidate, T3P-Y058-739, through clinical studies. The Phase 1/2 clinical study in solid tumors is planned to start in early 2021.

T3P-Y058-739 is the first therapeutic candidate developed using T3 Pharma’s proprietary protein delivery platform. The technology is built on the discovery that the bacterial type III secretion (T3S) system can be repurposed to deliver chosen proteins into eukaryotic cells.¹ T3 Pharma’s live bacteria vehicles have been optimised to accumulate and grow selectively at solid tumors, where they produce and deliver the therapeutic protein.

Dr. Simon Ittig, T3 Pharma’s CEO, commented: “This significant financing round comes at a pivotal moment for our company as we leverage the full potential of our proprietary platform and enter the clinic with our lead candidate. We are grateful to our investors for their continued support.”

“Our novel approach to deliver bioactive proteins selectively to cancerous cells using live bacteria has the potential to revolutionize treatment of solid tumors,” added Dr. Olivier Valdenaire, Chairman of the Board.

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Dr. Frank Kalkbrenner, Global Head of BIVF, commented: “Since I joined the Board last year, I have been impressed not only by the technology, but also by the team and the approach they have taken to building T3 Pharma’s innovative, differentiated platform and progressing its lead candidate. It is an endorsement of the quality of the science and the team that another financing round has been completed with an exceptional group of investors, which share our vision of improving the lives of cancer patients.”

References

^1. Ittig SJ, et al. A bacterial type III secretion-based protein delivery tool for broad applications in cell biology. J Cell Biol, 2015; 211 (4): 913-931. https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201502074

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Notes to Editors

About T3 Pharmaceuticals AG

T3 Pharma is a biotechnology company developing bacteria-based immuno-oncology therapies to treat solid tumors. The Company has built a proprietary protein delivery platform by repurposing the bacterial type III secretion (T3S) system. Its lead product, T3P-Y058-739, is expected to enter the clinic in 2021.

T3 Pharma was founded in 2015 as a spin-off from the Biozentrum of the University of Basel. Since then, it has raised a total of 40 million CHF in funding from investors, including the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, Reference Capital SA, Wille Finance AG and private Swiss investors.

The Company was among the first to receive support from the BaseLaunch accelerator program. It has gone on to win a W.A. De Vigier Foundation Award in 2019, was named “2018 Science Start-Up of the Year” by Falling Walls Venture and came first in the Venture.ch Business Plan Competition in 2016.

For further information, please visit www.t3pharma.com, or follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Contacts

T3 Pharmaceuticals AG
Email: [email protected]

Instinctif Partners (for English-speaking and International media)
Dr Christelle Kerouedan / Dr Katie Duffell

Tel: +44 (0)20 7457 2013

Email: [email protected]