Imvax – a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing personalized, whole tumor-derived immunotherapies – announced the closing of a $29 million financing round from existing investors. In the past 21 months, the company has raised $86 million to support completing its randomized, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2b trial of IGV-001 in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma (ndGBM).
IGV-001 is an autologous biologic-device combination product derived from Imvax’s proprietary Goldspire®immuno-oncology platform for solid tumors, which involves a unique approach to inducing a broad and durable immune response against tumors. Phase 1 studies showed that IGV-001 was safe and well tolerated. And a Phase 1b ndGBM study also yielded several efficacy signals, including significant improvements in PFS, OS, radiographic evidence of tumor response, and multiple biomarker changes that supported the presence of an immune response (Andrews DW, et al., Clin Cancer Res. 2021;27(7):1912-1922).
In ten Stupp-eligible ndGBM patients in the highest dose cohort treated with IGV-001, the median PFS was 17.1 months, compared with 6.5 months in historical standard-of-care (SOC) treatment, and median OS was 38.2 months, compared with 16.2 months in historical SOC.
Glioblastoma is the most common and most aggressive brain cancer and has resisted significant advances in treatment for decades. About 14,000 people are diagnosed with glioblastoma each year in the United States, and their average life expectancy is 12 to 15 months. Just over 7 percent of patients survive five years after diagnosis.
KEY QUOTE:
“We are grateful for the support of our existing investors in this latest fundraising, which reflects their continued belief in the promise of IGV-001 for the thousands of patients facing a GBM diagnosis each year. The financing provides us with operating flexibility well beyond the readout of the topline results of our Phase 2b trial, which we remain on track to report in mid-2025.”
- John P. Furey, Chief Executive Officer
