Led · Series B · Sep 2020

Imvaq Therapeutics develops novel viral-based, armed immune-stimulating therapies using vaccinia and MVA platforms to treat a variety of solid tumors, including skin cancers, sarcoma, and triple-negative breast cancer. Its lead candidate, MQ710, is a second-generation armed Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) viral immunotherapy. The company has a proprietary cGAS/STING screen to remove major immune-evasion and suppression genes in vaccinia and arms viruses with multiple immunostimulatory transgenes. Planned near-term development includes filing an IND and initiating Phase 1 clinical trials for MQ710, as well as advancing additional assets in its pipeline. Imvaq is pursuing both oncolytic vaccinia and non-oncolytic MVA strains for single-agent use and combinations with immune checkpoint inhibitors. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center researchers founded the company, and MSK holds institutional financial interests related to Imvaq via licensing agreements.

Participated · Series C · Aug 2019

HiFiBiO Therapeutics is a multinational biotherapeutics company that combines single-cell profiling, deep biological expertise, and data intelligence (DIS™) to discover and develop antibody drugs. Its core focus is differentiated antibody therapeutics for oncology and autoimmune disorders, with multiple discovery-stage programs and clinical candidates. The company will use proceeds from its oversubscribed $75M Series D to advance two lead oncology antibodies—HFB200301 (anti‑TNFR2) and HFB301001 (second‑generation anti‑OX40)—into Phase I trials and to continue discovery and clinical development. HiFiBiO also highlighted prior progress including rapid development of HFB30132A, a SARS‑CoV‑2 neutralizing antibody, into a Phase I trial (NCT04590430) and the launch of IND‑enabling studies and biomanufacturing for multiple antibodies. The company intends to validate its DIS™ approach and biomarker hypotheses in the clinic to enhance the probability of trial success for current and future programs. HiFiBiO operates laboratories across Cambridge, Mass.; Paris; Shanghai; Hong Kong; and Hangzhou, reflecting a global footprint. HiFiBiO Therapeutics operates a proprietary single-cell analytics platform (including CelliGO™) and Drug Intelligent Science (DIS™) to enable deep immune profiling and antibody discovery. The company integrates biological expertise with comprehensive single-cell technologies to identify precise patient subsets and novel biomarkers. HiFiBiO aims to advance multiple antibody drug candidates into clinical trials and accelerate pipeline development. It plans to use platform expansion to increase discovery throughput while reducing time and costs. The company has announced collaborations, an acquisition, a joint venture, and a Nature Genetics publication that demonstrate scientific and strategic progress. HiFiBiO maintains laboratories across Cambridge, Mass., Paris, France, and Shanghai, China. HiFiBiO Therapeutics develops antibody drugs by integrating deep biological expertise with single-cell profiling technologies and its proprietary single-B-cell functional antibody discovery CelliGOTM platform. The company is focused on advancing a pipeline of antibody therapeutics for cancer and autoimmune diseases and is establishing strategic partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to drive that pipeline. HiFiBiO operates more than 50 full-time employees across three facilities in the USA, France and China, with laboratories in Cambridge, MA and Hangzhou, China located within Nest.Bio Ventures incubator facilities. Liang Schweizer, PhD, serves as President and CEO, supported by a leadership team including Jeff He (COO), Colin Brenan, PhD (CCO) and Fred Dom (CFO). Financially, the company completed a $37.5M Series B financing in 2018 to support its discovery and development efforts. The company positions its proprietary platform and strategic partnerships as central to advancing its therapeutic pipeline.