Valo Therapeutics announces EUR 19m of investment funding and expanded clinical trials
10th March - Helsinki, Finland - Naples, Italy - Perth, Australia
Valo Therapeutics Oy announces that it has successfully secured a financing round of €19 million, part of which was raised in Europe and part in Australia, to clinically develop its innovative immune therapy for cancer.
An investment round of €13 million was co-led by Indaco Venture Partners and CDP Venture Capital SGR with the support of Fondazione ENEA Tech e Biomedical. They join the completed €6 million investment round from Australian investors, supported by major shareholder Freeman Road, the investment entity of current Director Dr Paul Porter, bringing the total fundraising up to €19 million.
Valo Therapeutics Oy is a Finnish company, of which one of the founders, Prof. Vincenzo Cerullo, is from Naples, developing a novel cancer immunotherapy designed to treat cancer patients. This funding will enable Valo to expand and complete the Phase 1B clinical study of the company's lead tumour antigen-coated oncolytic virus candidate. PeptiCRAd is an innovative cancer immunotherapy platform designed to enhance anti-tumour immune responses in patients with solid tumours. The clinical trials will be performed in three different countries, Italy, Australia and Germany.
Part of the investment round will be invested in Italy and allocated to the activities of the newly created Italian operating company, Valo Therapeutics Italy Srl, which will be based in Naples, with the aim of carrying out specific activities in the territory of Southern Italy such as (i) enrolling and treating patients in Southern Italy, (ii) initiating the large scale manufacturing of virus supporting product development up to the commercial phase, and (iii) supporting research activities in Institutions based in Naples and south of Italy.
David Hinton, Chair of Valo commented “We are very excited to secure this investment and be backed by Indaco Venture Partners, via the specialized Biotech fund, and two large Italian Institutional investors, CDP and ENEA Tech e Biomedical. This funding will allow Valo to undertake clinical trials in the South of Italy and Australia. Looking more longer term, this funding will also allow us to scale-up development - an important step towards larger Phase 2 clinical trials.”
“Valo Therapeutics brings two important elements: a precision medicine and cutting-edge platform technology in the space of immune therapy that can be applied to cancer and other clinical indications and an international excellent team and investors ranging from Italy to Finland, Australia and Germany. This investment will allow Valo to advance the clinical development of PeptiCRad, an immune-therapy platform that, if successful, will reshape the way some undruggable solid tumors are treated,” commented Giovanni Rizzo, Partner Indaco BIO Fund at Indaco Venture Partners and board director at Valo.
“We are thrilled to support Valo Therapeutics in this significant step of its growth journey, marked by the opening of a new research and development center in Naples. This investment represents a great opportunity to strengthen the biotech innovation ecosystem in Italy, harness local talent, and contribute to the development of cutting-edge solutions in cancer immunotherapy. We strongly believe in Valo Therapeutics' vision and the potential of their PeptiCRAd platform to revolutionize cancer treatment,” commented Francesca Ottier, Senior Partner and Head of Italia Venture II Fund of CDP Venture Capital Sgr.
For CDP Venture Capital, the transaction was managed by Ersilia Rendola and Paola Deidda, respectively Partner and Associate Fondo Italia Venture II - Fondo Imprese Sud of CDP Venture Capital Sgr.
“We chose to invest in Valo Therapeutics, recognizing the project's high scientific value in immuno-oncology, an innovative frontier in cancer treatment. This initiative represents not only an opportunity to support international excellence but also a strategic step towards bringing top-tier skills and technologies back to Italy. Through this investment, we are strengthening the value chain of the Italian biomedical sector while creating a significant impact on the National system by supporting research, attracting foreign investments, fostering opportunities in Southern Italy, and simultaneously offering innovative therapeutic solutions to Italian patients. All these objectives align perfectly with the Foundation's mission,” said Maria Cristina Porta, ENEA Tech e Biomedical General Manager.
