Participated · Series B · Oct 2024

Enara Bio uses its EDAPT® platform to discover and validate Dark Antigens®, a class of cancer-specific targets derived from previously non-coding genomic regions. The company is building a pipeline of TCR-directed immunotherapies against Dark Antigen targets that are prevalent and homogeneously expressed across multiple solid tumors. EDAPT combines de novo bioinformatics, immunopeptidomics, and RNA in situ hybridization to confirm antigen presentation and cancer specificity. Enara highlights a partnership in which Boehringer Ingelheim exercised an option to license multiple Dark Antigens to develop off-the-shelf immunotherapies for lung cancer. The new financing will be used to rapidly advance Enara’s first-in-class therapies toward the clinic. Enara is based in Oxford, UK, and is backed by a syndicate of life‑science investors including RA Capital, Pfizer Ventures, M Ventures, Samsara BioCapital and SV Health Investors.

Participated · Equity · Nov 2016

Achilles Therapeutics develops personalised T cell therapies that target clonal neoantigens identified from each patient’s tumour using DNA sequencing and the proprietary PELEUS™ bioinformatics platform. The company is running two Phase I/IIa trials: the THETIS trial in recurrent or metastatic malignant melanoma and the CHIRON trial in advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Both trials are currently enrolling patients and interim data were expected in the first half of 2021. Achilles intends to use new financing to accelerate R&D activities, expand its clinical network to support ongoing trials, and continue building manufacturing capabilities. The company is broadening a pipeline of solid tumour pre-clinical product candidates based on its personalised approach. Achilles was founded in 2016. Achilles Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company based in Stevenage, UK, developing personalized T cell therapies for solid tumours that target clonal neoantigens. The company uses its PELEUS™ bioinformatics platform to identify patient-specific clonal neoantigens and a proprietary manufacturing process to produce T cells that target those antigens. Achilles is led by CEO Dr Iraj Ali. It raised £100M in a Series B financing to fund clinical and manufacturing expansion. Proceeds will be used to deliver two human proof-of-concept studies in non-small cell lung cancer and melanoma, both expected to enter the clinic this year. The financing will also support building out manufacturing capabilities and broadening its solid tumour pre-clinical pipeline. Achilles Therapeutics is a newly formed London-based company developing cancer immunotherapies that target truncal tumour neo-antigens. The company will combine research from University College London and the Francis Crick Institute to design those therapies. Achilles has exclusive rights to develop and commercialize neo-antigen technologies arising from Cancer Research UK’s £14 million TRACERx clinical study of 850 non-small cell lung cancer patients. The company launched with £13.2m in funding led by Syncona, with participation from the Cancer Research Technology (CRT) Pioneer Fund and The UCL Technology Fund and support from UCL Business (UCLB) and the Crick. CRT will receive equity milestones and royalties from products developed and commercialized by Achilles, and any such financial rewards will be shared with UCLB and the Crick. Founders include Professor Charles Swanton, Professor Karl Peggs, Dr Sergio Quezada and Professor Mark Lowdell.