BURLINGAME, Calif., June 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Igenica, Inc., a leading biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of first-in-class antibodies, today announced that it has raised $33 million in a Series C round of funding. The financing round was led by new investor Third Rock Ventures, with participation from existing investors The Column Group, Orbimed Advisors and 5AM Ventures. The closing of the Series C financing increases the total raised by the company to $55 million since the company began operations in January 2009.
Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance the company’s monoclonal antibody pipeline toward clinical trials. These funds will also be used to apply Igenica’s unique discovery approach, consisting of the sTAg target discovery platform and the iTAb antibody discovery platform, toward the discovery of new monoclonal antibodies against a broad range of drug targets that have not been previously investigated for the treatment of cancer.
“We are pleased to have Third Rock Ventures, a premier life sciences venture capital firm, lead Igenica’s Series C round,” said David Goeddel, Ph.D., Executive Chairman of Igenica, Inc. “Third Rock’s investment highlights the broad potential of Igenica’s antibody technology and provides strategic flexibility as we execute our operating and business plans. Moreover, we are now advancing a product candidate toward the clinic that has the potential to improve treatment outcomes for cancer patients.”
About Igenica, Inc.
Igenica, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company pioneering breakthrough antibody-based cancer medicines. The company has integrated innovative technology platforms to address the major challenges to developing effective treatments for multiple oncology indications, with sTAg, a new approach to discovering and prioritizing novel tumor antigens, and iTAb, a functional in vivo antibody screening approach. Collectively, the two technology platforms drive Igenica’s drug discovery efforts and promise to identify novel and more effective cancer therapeutics.
Igenica’s Board of Directors includes David Goeddel, Ph.D., Managing Partner, The Column Group; John Diekman, Ph.D., Managing Partner, 5AM Ventures; Mark A. Goldsmith, M.D., Ph.D., Venture Partner, Third Rock Ventures; Carl Gordon, Ph.D., CFA, General Partner, Orbimed Advisors; Robert Schreiber, Ph.D., Alumni Endowed Professor of Pathology and Immunology, Professor of Molecular Microbiology and Tumor Immunology Program Leader for the Siteman Comprehensive Cancer Center at Washington University School of Medicine.
Contact:
John K. Celebi, MBA
Chief Business Officer
Igenica, Inc.
(650) 231-4320
SOURCE Igenica, Inc.
