Clinical-Stage T Cell Receptor Biotech Company Immunocore Raises Over $130 Million

By Dan Anderson • Mar 6, 2020
  • Immunocore, a clinical-stage T cell receptor biotechnology company, announced it raised over $130 million

Immunocore — a clinical-stage T cell receptor biotechnology company working to develop and commercialize a new generation of transformative medicines for addressing unmet needs in cancer, infection, and autoimmune disease — announced the completion of its Series B private financing round with over $130 million.

The Series B round was led by General Atlantic. Other new investors participating in this round include CCB International, JDRF T1D Fund, Rock Springs Capital, Terra Magnum Capital Partners, and WuXi AppTec’s Corporate Venture Fund. Existing shareholders Eli Lilly and Company and RTW Investments are also participating along with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through the conversion of its outstanding loan note.

This funding round will enable Immunocore to further expand and accelerate its rapidly growing clinical stage pipeline of ImmTAX (Immune mobilising monoclonal TCRs Against Cancer, Infectious Diseases and Autoimmune) molecules that includes three oncology programs in MAGE-A4 (in collaboration with Genentech), NYESO-1 (in collaboration with GSK), and the lead program tebentafusp (IMCgp100) — which is in pivotal clinical studies as a potential treatment for patients with metastatic uveal melanoma.

And the funding will allow the company to advance two wholly owned clinical-stage internal programs for chronic Hepatitis B and for PRAME, a target expressed in a wide range of tumors. Plus this investment is also expected to accelerate Immunocore’s novel platform to treat autoimmunity, including type one diabetes (in collaboration with the JDRF T1D Fund), advance the TCR platform and expand its database of rich and novel targets.

Key Quotes:

“We are extremely pleased that General Atlantic is leading our Series B round and welcome them, along with our new investors, to Immunocore. This new funding – from an international cadre of health care investors joined by some of our existing shareholders – represents a further endorsement of our unique and powerful platform technology, our novel class of TCR-based biologic therapies, the accomplished scientists at Immunocore and our mission to transform the lives of people with serious diseases.”

-Bahija Jallal, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer and Director of Immunocore

“We are pleased to partner with Immunocore at this key time in its development, with lead candidate tebentafusp on the cusp of commercialization and two further assets in the clinic. We are excited by the broad applicability of the science within the Company’s ImmTAX™ platform and the Company’s promising pipeline across oncology, infectious and autoimmune diseases. We look forward to providing impactful support to Immunocore as it continues on its strong growth trajectory.”

-Rob Perez, Operating Partner at General Atlantic