SpecificiT Raises Seed Financing

SpecificiT Pharma Inc., a Montreal, Canada-based biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative personalized hematological cancer immunotherapies, completed a seed financing of undisclosed amount.

Backers included existing shareholder AmorChem, and new partners Sanderling Ventures and Accel-Rx Health Sciences Accelerator.

The proceeds of the transaction will be used to complete key activities with respect to manufacturing, process development and the addition of key management.

Pierre Beauparlant, Ph.D., Venture Partner at Sanderling Ventures, will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer of the company.

SpecificiT is developing cellular therapies for hematological cancers which to date, cannot be treated with Chimeric Receptor Antigen of T cells (CAR-T) therapies. Its approach is centered on the use of Minor Histocompatability Antigens (“MiHAs”) which enable donor T-cells to be safely directed to eliminate cancer cells following allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (AHCT). The identification of these antigens, the elucidation of their potential use and their translation into the clinical is the result of the collaborative work of Dr. Claude Perreault, Dr. Denis-Claude Roy, Dr. Jean-Sébastien Delisle, Dr. Pierre Thibault and their respective teams at the Université de Montréal’s Institut de recherche en immunologie et en cancérologie and at the Centre intégré universitaire en santé et en services sociaux de l’Est-de-l’Ile-de-Montréal.
SpecificiT is currently conducting a multi-centre Phase I study to measure the safety and efficacy of donor T-lymphocytes expanded following exposure to individually selected immunogenic and proprietary MiHAs present on the surface of patient malignant cells.
The therapy will first be used in patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).

FinSMEs

11/09/2017

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