Normunity, a biotechnology company creating novel anti-cancer therapies, announced today that it closed a Series B funding round of $75 million. The funding was co-led by Samsara BioCapital and Enavate Sciences, alongside other new investors Regeneron Ventures, Pfizer Ventures, and YK Bioventures, as well as existing investors Canaan Partners, Sanofi Ventures, Taiho Ventures, Osage Venture Partners, HongShan Capital Group, and Connecticut Innovations. And the Board of Directors will be expanded to include David Parry, PhD (Samsara), Sara Nayeem, MD (Enavate), and Marie-Clare Peakman, MD (Pfizer Ventures).
The proceeds from the funding will be used to advance Normunity’s lead program, NRM-823. This first-in-class T cell engager binds a novel and highly specific tumor target expressed on multiple types of solid tumors. And the company plans to initiate the Phase 1 clinical trial of NRM-823 in 2H 2025 and utilize its prior work by advancing other modalities against this tumor-specific target, including antibody‑drug conjugates and radiotheranostics.
The funding will also be used to advance Normunity’s pipeline of programs that address novel targets responsible for tumor-specific immune suppression. And these pipeline candidates derive from Normunity’s proprietary target discovery process, conducted in partnership with the lab of Professor Lieping Chen, MD PhD, at the Yale University School of Medicine, and built on insights into untapped biological mechanisms that occur from the complex interactions of the immune system and cancer.
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“We are delighted to secure this financing from such an experienced and well-respected syndicate of life sciences investors. Their support will enable Normunity to continue our strong momentum and advance our lead drug program NRM-823 into the clinic this year and explore other modalities with this exciting tumor specific target. With our proprietary target discovery process, we will continue to build our pipeline around novel targets, with new biological insights that could translate into life-changing medicines for cancer patients.”
– Rachel Humphrey, MD, founding Chief Executive Officer of Normunity
“Normunity has an outstanding team that has made impressive progress in discovering and advancing an exciting cancer drug program in NRM-823, which has the potential to address a previously unrecognized target that plays a role in supporting cancer survival across a range of solid tumors. We look forward to working with the Normunity team as they continue to advance NRM-823 and other novel agents in the pipeline.”
– David Parry, PhD, Venture Partner at Samsara BioCapital
“The T cell engager space has seen multiple recent successes in solid tumors, and we believe this modality is poised to transform the treatment of numerous cancers in the coming years. We are excited to support the development of NRM-823, which has many characteristics of an ideal T cell engager and has demonstrated compelling preclinical efficacy and safety.”
– Sara Nayeem, MD, EVP, Investments at Enavate Sciences
