Houston-based Diakonos Oncology – a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company – announced the final closing of an oversubscribed seed financing of $11.4 million. This funding round was led by biotechnology investment firm Restem Group, with participation from existing investors.
The funds have enabled the company to establish manufacturing operations, add several leadership positions, and complete enrollment for the Phase 1 study of lead asset DOC1021 in the treatment of glioblastoma (GBM). This additional capital will accelerate operations into late 2025 and enable Diakonos to initiate the Phase 2 trial in GBM prior to closing a Series A round.
DOC1021 is a first-of-its-kind dendritic cell vaccine (DCV) initiating a complete cytotoxic TH1 immune response against a patient’s cancer through our proprietary double loading technology. And the enrollment in the two-year Phase 1 trial was completed in December 2023.
Two other clinical trials of Diakonos’ DCV are also ongoing for the treatment of pancreatic cancer and angiosarcoma. And Diakonos has received Fast Track designations from the FDA for both the GBM and pancreatic cancer programs. The company has also received Orphan Drug Designation for the GBM program.
Diakonos’ DCVs activate cytotoxic TH1 cell signaling pathways that better harness a patient’s immune system to target and eliminate cancer cells. And this is possible without any genetic modification of the patient’s immune cells and without the need for toxic preconditioning.
KEY QUOTES:
“We greatly appreciate the support of these investors in sharing our passion for improving the lives of patients suffering from deadly cancers such as glioblastoma. The fact that this financing is nearly triple our initial target also shows they share our confidence in the effectiveness of our unique cancer therapy. This investment will fund operations through the final readout of key safety and efficacy data from our Phase 1 trial and will allow the company to ramp up preparations for pipeline expansion and the initiation of our Phase 2 GBM trial which is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of this year.”
- Mike Wicks, Diakonos CEO
“We are thrilled to invest in this groundbreaking company that is at the forefront of cancer treatment innovation. As a firm deeply involved in the cell therapeutic field, we recognize the immense potential of their pioneering work with dendritic cell therapies and we are confident that this can become a new standard of care for cancer in the future.”
• ⁃ Andres Isaias, Executive Chairman of Restem Group
