Netherlands-based ISA Pharmaceuticals is an immunotherapy company that develops treatments for various cancers and infectious diseases. In a recent development, the company has raised €26M in a fresh round of funding.
The fundraise saw participation from new investors, including Invest-NL, and existing investors, including Regeneron.
What does ISA Pharmaceuticals offer?
It is a clinical-stage immunotherapy company developing rationally designed, fully synthetic immunotherapeutics against cancer and persistent virus infections. ISA Pharmaceuticals claims to have built a proprietary immunotherapy platform based on its Synthetic Long Peptide (SLP) concept and its AMPLIVANT technology.
SLP immunotherapies are designed to fully harness and direct the body’s own defense mechanisms towards fighting the disease, either alone or in combination with existing therapies.
According to ISA, Persistent HPV16 infection can cause head & neck, cervical and anogenital cancers. These cancers can be severe and life-threatening with low overall survival rates once these cancers progress to advanced stages.
Leo Holwerda, Director Capital at Invest-NL, says, “We are happy to support ISA Pharmaceuticals to accelerate its clinical studies and confident that the company will succeed in bringing its lead therapy for patients with HPV16-positive head & neck cancer and cervical cancer to the market. This innovative and impactful therapy will strengthen the prospects of many patients.”
HPV16 is a major cause of head and neck cancer, with over 25,000 new cases and 11,000 deaths in Europe and 46,000 new cases and 9,000 deaths in the US. HPV16 is also responsible for about 50 per cent of cervical cancer cases.
Cervical cancer is the 2nd most common cancer in women aged 15 to 44 years in Europe, with over 60,000 new diagnoses and 25,000 deaths each year in Europe. Globally there are more than 500,000 new patients and 300,000 deaths.
Synthetic Long Peptide (SLP) platform technology
As mentioned above, SLP immunotherapies act through the specific activation of the patient’s own immune system. ISA’s lead product ISA101b – which targets treatment of advanced stages of HPV16-positive head and neck cancer and cervical cancer in combination with Libtayo (cemiplimab, anti-PD1 immunotherapy) – is currently in late-stage clinical trials. It is being co-developed by pharmaceutical companies, including US-based Regeneron and France-based Sanofi.
The SLP technology platform is the basis of several ISA pipeline products that are scheduled to proceed into clinical trials over the next few years.
The company reports that three promising products are in the final stages of pre-clinical development. These include:
- ISA104: it targets the hepatitis B virus (HBV) in chronically infected patients. Chronic HBV is a major cause of liver cirrhosis and liver cancer and affects over 250 million people worldwide
- ISA103: it is aimed at tumours that express PRAME, a protein closely associated with the malignant behaviour of cells in numerous types of cancers; and,
- ISA106: it is a potential treatment for high-risk COVID-19 infected patients
Capital utilisation
The funds will be used by the company for its lead product ISA101b towards first marketing authorisation as well as to broaden the clinical pipeline of immunotherapies based on the Synthetic Long Peptide (SLP) platform technology.
Gerben Moolhuizen, CEO of ISA Pharmaceuticals, says, “We are very happy with the continued support of our existing partners and shareholders. Invest-NL’s support underlines the innovation at ISA Pharma and potential impact of our SLP immunotherapies for the treatment of serious diseases.”
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