Adaptimmune secures a further US$104m investment for product development

9 October 2014

Oxford-based therapeutics company Adaptimmune Limited, has announced the completion of a US$104 million Series A financing round. It plans to use the funds to advance the company’s internal programmes into the clinic in multiple cancer indications.

The oversubscribed round was led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA), and additional new investors participating included OrbiMed Advisors LLC, Wellington Management Company, LLP, Fidelity Biosciences, Foresite Capital Management, Ridgeback Capital Management, Novo A/S, QVT, Rock Springs Capital, venBio Select and Merlin Nexus. Existing investors participating included the University of Oxford and others.

Using its unique T-cell receptor (TCR) engineering technology, Adaptimmune has created TCRs which are deployed to target the cancer testis antigen, NY-ESO-1, as well as other targets.

In June the company announced that it had entered into a strategic collaboration and licensing agreement with GlaxoSmithKline covering an option on the NY-ESO-1 clinical programme. The company is currently running trials across the United States in multiple myeloma, melanoma, sarcoma and ovarian cancer.

Adaptimmune has also announced changes to its Board. David Mott, NEA General Partner and head of healthcare; Dr Ali Behbahani, a Partner in NEA’s healthcare team, and Dr Peter Thompson, a Private Equity Partner at OrbiMed, have been appointed as non-executive directors. They will serve alongside existing Chairman, Dr Jonathan Knowles, and Chief Executive Officer, James Noble. The Board is further strengthened by Dr Elliott Sigal, former Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President of Bristol Myers-Squibb, who joins as an independent industry representative.