Memo Therapeutics AG, a Schliren, Switzerland-based antibody discovery and immune repertoire analysis company, raised CHF 14m in Series B financing.
The round was led by Swisscanto Invest by Zürcher Kantonalbank and included BERNINA BioInvest, as well as new private investors and existing investors Investiere, Schroder Adveq, Jaquet Partners, and Redalpine.
The company intends to use the funds to advance development of MTX-COVAB, its lead antibody candidate for the treatment of COVID-19 through to Phase II clinical studies, including production of GMP material.
MTX-COVAB is a fully human, highly potent antibody isolated from clinically selected convalescent COVID-19 donors that also neutralizes all major known mutants. Memo Therapeutics AG has agreed a fast-track development plan for MTX-COVAB with regulatory authorities and plans to begin clinical studies in 2021.
The company intends to also use the proceeds to advance clinical development to Phase II of its neutralizing antibody MTX-005, directed against BK virus infection in renal transplant patients, which poses a series threat to transplant success. In addition, Memo expects to develop additional anti-infectious disease candidate antibodies and expand corporate partnering activities with the funding.
Led by Dr. Karsten Fischer, CEO, and Dr. Christoph Esslinger, CSO, Memo Therapeutics leverages an antibody discovery platform that uses fast microfluidic single-cell molecular cloning and screening technologies to enable antibody repertoire mining and antibody discovery at speed, and efficiency.
The platform captures and preserves entire B-cell repertoires from any donor species and any B-cell type in recombinant form for display using mammalian cells. The antibody repertoires are subsequently screened in single-cell format using microfluidic screening technology that can assess millions of candidate antibodies directly in functional assays, resulting in recombinant clonal cell lines expressing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) with the desired functional properties.
Exploiting microfluidic single-cell molecular cloning and screening technologies, the company engages in antibody discovery across species and indications for proprietary and partnered projects. Its current pipeline features programs in infectious diseases and immuno-oncology.
FinSMEs
06/11/2020