Enterome, a clinical-stage company developing first-in-class OncoMimics immunotherapies to treat cancer, announced that it has raised $19 million in new private financing to advance its lead clinical program, EO2463 OncoMimics immunotherapy, for the treatment of indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (iNHL).
The Institute for Follicular Lymphoma Innovation (IFLI), a global non-profit foundation dedicated to advancing research and treatment for follicular lymphoma, invested $9 million in the round, of which $5 million will be allocated to Enterome upon closing and an additional $4 million in conditional, tranched funding.
And existing shareholders invested an additional $10 million, including: SymBiosis, Seventure Partners, Lundbeckfonden BioCapital, Primo Capital, and The U.S. Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Therapy Acceleration Program (LLS TAP).
The company recently disclosed having held positive meetings with both the FDA (Type C meeting) and the EMA (Scientific Advice), outlining a clear regulatory path to registration for marketing authorizations in “watch-and-wait” iNHL.
Enterome recently announced it will present new data showing EO2463 also has a meaningful impact when tested in combination with standard of care in relapsed and refractory iNHL patients at the International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma (ICML) in Lugano on June 21. Previous findings presented at ASCO in 2024 in the relapsed and refractory patient population further suggested the potential to identify individuals most likely to benefit from EO2463 treatment, supported by biomarker analyses.
EO2463: EO2463 is an innovative, off-the-shelf immunotherapy candidate that combines four synthetic OncoMimics peptides. And these non-self, microbial-derived peptides correspond to CD8 HLA-A2 epitopes that mimic the B lymphocyte-specific lineage markers CD20, CD22, CD37, and CD268 (BAFF receptor). EO2463 also includes the helper peptide (CD4+ epitope) universal cancer peptide 2 (UCP2). Then, the unique ability of EO2463 immunotherapy to selectively target multiple B-cell markers enables the destruction of malignant B lymphocytes. By ensuring broad target coverage across malignant B cells, this novel approach aims to simultaneously improve safety and maximize efficacy, reducing the tumor cells’ capacity to develop immune-resistance mechanisms such as antigen escape.
How the funding will be used: The new funds will be used to expand and finalize the ongoing Phase 1/2 SIDNEY clinical trial of EO2463 and prepare the candidate for a registrational trial.
KEY QUOTES:
“Attracting highly specialized blood cancer investor IFLI to this financing demonstrates the conviction of our new and existing investors in the potential of OncoMimics for blood and solid tumor cancers. We currently are generating exciting clinical proof of concept data for EO2463 monotherapy in several iNHL patient populations included in the Phase 1/2 SIDNEY clinical trial. Most importantly, EO2463 has shown robust clinical efficacy and exceptional safety and tolerability – which is especially impressive for such a potent immunotherapy. This offers a new hope for these patients and a rare opportunity to create an entirely new market segment for an impactful therapeutic. This financing will enable us to continue the SIDNEY trial of EO2463 and prepare to launch a first pivotal Phase 3 trial of this candidate for the ‘watch-and-wait’ iNHL population.”
Pierre Bélichard, Enterome’s Chief Executive Officer
“This investment aligns with IFLI’s mission to accelerate the development of innovative therapies and precision biomarkers for follicular lymphoma. EO2463 represents a novel class of synthetic, off-the-shelf Immunotherapeutics with a unique mechanism of action that selectively targets malignant B cells. We are particularly interested in supporting Enterome’s efforts to demonstrate EO2463’s clinical efficacy across multiple lines of therapy, including in relapsed and refractory settings.”
Michel Azoulay, MD, Chief Medical Officer at IFLI
“It is important for us to continue to support Enterome, a company working to develop novel therapeutics based on our shared commitment to create better therapies for blood cancers. LLS has invested over $1.8 billion in groundbreaking research since our inception in 1949. Our active partnership with Enterome, through our Therapy Acceleration Program, will continue to advance the clinical development of the OncoMimics™ family of novel immunotherapeutics for the benefit of blood cancer patients. We are particularly excited to help advance EO2463 which has shown promising signs of efficacy as monotherapy with excellent safety and tolerability in ‘watch-and-wait’ iNHL patients, who currently have no approved treatment options.”
Lore Gruenbaum, Chief Scientific Officer at LLS
