ST. LOUIS & HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Affigen, a biotechnology company that develops therapeutics targeting cell lineage-specific tumor proteins, today announced the closing of a $17 million Series A financing round led by Black Beret Life Sciences on behalf of its affiliate BBLS Immunotherapy, LLC.
“Affigen’s approach to treating currently incurable cancers aligns perfectly with our mission: we are proud to partner with the Affigen team to bring these therapeutics to cancer patients.”
“We founded Affigen to realize the promise of targeting cell-lineage specific tumor proteins with therapeutics that have direct, potent anti-tumor activity and unrivaled safety,” said Carlos F. Santos, Ph.D., CEO of Affigen. “Pioneering work conducted over the past three decades has demonstrated the profound potential of this approach, but only recently has it become feasible to develop therapeutics of this kind in a manner that is both clinically relevant and commercially viable. We look forward to working with our academic, industry and financial partners to bring this new class of therapeutics to patients with critically unmet medical needs.”
“Black Beret Life Sciences manages investments in companies and technologies with the potential to dramatically improve patient outcomes in cancer, regenerative medicine, and anti-aging,” said Marc Penn, M.D., Ph.D., FACC, CEO of Black Beret Life Sciences. “Affigen’s approach to treating currently incurable cancers aligns perfectly with our mission: we are proud to partner with the Affigen team to bring these therapeutics to cancer patients.”
Affigen is headquartered in the Cortex Innovation District in St. Louis, Missouri. Proceeds from the investment round will be used to advance the Company’s lead programs through pre-clinical validation and into Phase 1 clinical studies in several hematological malignancies.
About Affigen
Affigen (www.affigen.com) develops tumor-identifying therapeutics that target cell lineage-specific tumor proteins in certain incurable cancers. The Company’s growing team houses deep expertise in immuno-oncology, mass-personalized biomolecular engineering and complex therapeutic development, and is working to deliver a new class of therapeutics that maximize both anti-tumor activity and safety in patients with critically unmet medical needs. Affigen was founded in 2016 by Frameshift, a firm that ideates, translates and launches life sciences companies that have the potential to fundamentally shift the metabolic rate of the industry. The Company is headquartered in the Cortex Innovation District in St. Louis, Missouri.
About Black Beret Life Sciences
Black Beret Life Sciences is the life sciences investment management arm of the Houston-based Bosarge Family Office. The firm was established in 2014 by Dr. Ed Bosarge to organize and manage investments in potentially game-changing technologies and companies in areas related to regenerative medicine, anti-aging and immunotherapy. Black Beret Life Sciences’ portfolio of managed investments includes companies and research across an array of disease areas, including diabetes, neurodegeneration, osteoarthritis, cancer immunotherapy and various conditions related to aging. The firm is based in Houston, TX, with offices worldwide.
