Participated · Series A · Mar 2022

Geneos Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company that uses its GT-EPIC platform to target tumor neoantigens and develop personalized therapeutic cancer vaccines. Its lead program, GT-30, evaluates PTCV (GNOS-PV02 plus plasmid-encoded IL-12) administered with pembrolizumab in patients with unresectable or metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma who progressed on or are intolerant to first-line tyrosine kinase inhibitors. The Phase 1b/2a trial assesses safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy; initial data from the first 24 patients showed three complete responses and four partial responses, prompting expansion to 36 patients. Geneos plans to report efficacy and durability data from the full 36-patient cohort in 2023 and is planning for a potentially registrational trial based on the encouraging results. The company raised $5M in a Series A3 financing and intends to use the proceeds to expand the Phase 1b/2a trial of its personalized vaccine in liver cancer. The Series A3 added 3B Future Health Fund to Geneos' investor syndicate, and 3B's managing director, Dr. Roberto DePonti, will join as a board observer. Geneos is led by CEO Niranjan Sardesai and is based in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania. Geneos Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company focused on tumor neoantigen-targeted personalized immunotherapies using its GT-EPIC™ Neoantigen-Targeting Platform. The platform designs and delivers highly optimized synthetic DNA plasmids and combinations tailored to each patient’s unique tumor mutations. Its lead candidate, GNOS-PV02, is a tumor-specific DNA plasmid-based personalized cancer vaccine being evaluated in the GT-30 Phase Ib/IIa trial for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. In the GT-30 trial GNOS-PV02 is combined with a DNA-encoded cytokine IL-12 (INO-9012) and the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab. The company intends to use new funding to expand the GT-30 trial from 24 to 36 patients, advance the pipeline into a new indication, and support continued operations. Geneos is based in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania. Geneos Therapeutics is a clinical-stage company developing personalized immunotherapies that target tumor neoantigens using its GT-EPIC platform. Its lead programs include GT-30, a personalized neoantigen-targeting vaccine in a Phase Ib/IIa trial, and GNOS-PV02 for treating advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The GT-EPIC platform is based on DNA medicines technology exclusively licensed from Inovio Pharmaceuticals. Inovio’s underlying technology has been used in the clinical treatment of over 2,000 patients with more than 6,000 administrations. Geneos recently closed a $12M Series A1 financing to support expansion of its clinical programs. The company expanded its management team with senior hires across clinical, R&D, business development, and finance, and added a Korea Investment Partners executive to its board. Geneos is led by founder and CEO Dr. Niranjan Y. Sardesai and is based in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania. Geneos Therapeutics develops neoantigen-targeting personalized cancer immunotherapies using a platform designed to identify, design, manufacture and deliver tumor-specific therapies. The company was created as a spinout of Inovio Pharmaceuticals and operates under an exclusive license to Inovio's immunotherapy platform. Geneos intends to use its technology to advance personalized cancer treatments toward clinical testing. Proceeds from the Series A will fund the launch of operations as a standalone entity and completion of IND-enabling activities toward first-in-human trials. Concurrent with the financing, co-founder Niranjan Y. Sardesai resigned as Inovio COO to serve full-time as Geneos' CEO. Following the round, Geneos will no longer be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Inovio.