Investment: ImmunoGenesis

Amount: $4.5 million

Drug: IMGS-001

Target: Cold, immune-excluded tumors 

Prevalence: 55% of all tumors (market potential is $50 billion annually)

The firm: ImmunoGenesis is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company re-envisioning the treatment of cold tumors. They account for more than half of all cancers and are characterized by having mechanisms of resistance that suppress the immune response. ImmunoGenesis is creating therapies based on the pathology of these tumors that are rationally designed to overcome immune exclusion and thereby drive an effective immune response.

How IMGS-001 works: It targets proteins on tumors that are resistant to other treatments, opening a pathway for the immune system to take out cancer cells.

How it’s different: Cancer drugs target only one protein, known as PD-L1.  IMGS-001 is the first antibody to also go after a second target, PD-L2, providing a more sustained attack by the immune system against cold tumors.

Trials: First patient was dosed in September 2023 in a Phase 1a/1b study led by Dr. David S. Hong, Professor of Investigational Therapeutics at MD Anderson. The study continues patient enrollment.

Website: https://www.immunogenesis.com