Camel-IDS Grabs $42 Million in Funding to Support Treatment for Brain Lesions
Belgium-based Camel-IDS secured €37 million (~$42 million U.S>) in Series A funding to support the development of cancer-targeted radiopharmaceuticals.
In announcing the round, Camel-IDS said the finances will be used for a phase Ib/II trial of its lead program CAM-H2, a treatment option in HER2-positive cancers, while further developing preclinical programs and broadening the pipeline. The Phase Ib/II study of CAM-H2 will be in brain metastatic breast cancer, the company said. When HER2 breast cancers progress toward the brain, the prognosis is often grim. Camel-IDS believes its lead program will be able to effectively irradiate such brain lesions while sparing healthy tissue. The expectation is based on Camel-IDS technology platform that leverages the favorable tissue distribution of camelid-derived single domain antibodies linked to radionuclides.
Camel-IDS Chief Scientific Officer and co-founder Tony Lahoutte said brain metastases in breast cancer are devastating for patients and can be difficult to treat. Lahoutte said the company’s lead product, CAM-H2, is a new treatment option for this condition. He praised the support of the Series A investors who provided the funding to drive the candidate through clinical development.
Camel-IDS was founded in 2014 as a spin-off from Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Its launch was supported by seed funding from the Foundation Fournier-Majoie and other seed investors. In addition to CAM-H2, Camel-IDS also has two pre-clinical programs in development.
Ruth Devenyns, chief executive officer of Camel-IDS said the successful financing round underscores the potential of the company’s “innovative technology and product pipeline.”
“We are grateful for the continued support from our existing shareholders and look forward to welcoming the new international investor syndicate that has extensive experience in leveraging platform technologies to develop multi-product opportunities,” Devenyns said in a statement.
The funding round was led by Gimv and V-Bio Ventures. Other co-leading investors were HealthCap, Novo Seeds, Pontifax and BioMedPartners, among others. Under terms of the funding agreement, Christina Takke from V-Bio, Karl Naegler from Gimv, Mårten Steen from HealthCap, Morten Graugaard Døssing from Novo Seeds and Ohad Hammer from Pontifax will join the board of directors.
“From early on in our discussions, the renowned expertise of the Camel-IDS’ team in radio-immunotherapy became clear, with Prof. Tony Lahoutte bringing exceptional knowledge to the table. Together with Ruth Devenyns as CEO, an industry veteran of the European biotech landscape and successful entrepreneur, the company is well positioned to move up to the next level,” Karl Naegler, Partner in Gimv’s Health & Care platform and the new board member of Camel-IDS, said in a statement.