• Tessa Therapeutics

  Participated · Equity · Dec 2017

  Tessa Therapeutics is focused on developing autologous CD30-CAR-T therapy (TT11) and an allogeneic CD30.CAR EBVST platform (TT11X) to treat CD30-positive lymphomas and other cancers. The company plans to use recent financing to advance clinical development of TT11 and TT11X and to support manufacturing at its newly qualified commercial cGMP facility. TT11’s pilot Phase 2 CHARIOT data presented at ASH showed a complete response (CR) rate of 57.1% and an overall response rate (ORR) of 71.4% in relapsed or refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma; TT11 has received RMAT designation from the FDA and PRIME designation from the EMA. TT11X, the allogeneic EBVST-based program, reported clinical responses in seven of nine patients in a Phase 1 study, including four complete disappearances of tumor. Tessa intends to progress TT11 to a pivotal Phase 2 CHARIOT trial and advance TT11X, with the long-term goal of expanding its platforms to treat a broader range of cancers. The company operates a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility and is headquartered in Singapore. Tessa Therapeutics is a Singapore-based international clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on T cell therapy for solid tumors. Its core product is a Virus Specific T cell (VST) platform that produces VSTs through a selective expansion process enabling them to infiltrate and survive in solid tumors. Tessa says its VSTs migrate to tumor sites and kill cancer cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed, which it cites as a key differentiator to other cell therapies. Led by co-founder and CEO Andrew Khoo, the company is conducting a multi-center Phase III trial targeting nasopharyngeal cancer and a Phase I trial targeting cervical and oropharyngeal cancers. Tessa completed an $80M financing round led by Temasek, and intends to use the proceeds to further advance its clinical pipeline and bring new therapies into clinical trials. Investors in the round included EDBI, Karst Peak Capital, Heliconia, Heritas and others.

• Treebo Hotels

  Led · Series C · Aug 2017

  Treebo operates a tech-enabled budget hotel network that franchises hotels exclusively, providing branding, customer-acquisition channels, management software and a mobile app that acts as a virtual concierge. It guarantees base standards (clean linen, free WiFi, etc.) for a price range of roughly 1,000–3,000 INR ($15–$50) per night. Treebo claims nearly 300 hotels (over 6,000 rooms) across more than 50 Indian cities and has not expanded internationally. The company differentiates via a full-franchise model and takes a revenue cut that can be as high as 40 percent. Co-founder Rahul Chaudhary estimates budget hotels represent about 65% of India’s hotel market (roughly $15–20 billion in annual spend). Treebo plans to use new capital to improve customer experience, marketing, technology and geographic expansion, and has begun TV advertising with actor Irrfan Khan as an ambassador. Treebo Hotels is a Bengaluru-based budget hotel room-booking platform. The company operates a platform for booking budget hotel rooms. It has raised Rs.112 crore (about $16.7 million) in a Series B funding round. The Series B was led by Bertelsmann India Investments (BII), the strategic investment arm of Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA. Existing investors SAIF Partners and Matrix Partners India also participated in the round. The article does not disclose operating metrics or future plans.

No current team members are available.