CatalYm has closed a USD 150 million Series D financing round to advance the further development of its Visugromab antibody. The financing supports the clinical development of the Visugromab antibody for the treatment of solid tumors such as non-small cell lung cancer or bladder cancer.
CatalYm, originally from Würzburg and now based at the IZB in Martinsried, has secured record funding - led by new investors such as Canaan Partners and Bioqube Ventures, with participation from Forbion Growth, Omega Funds and Gilde Healthcare. Existing investors such as Jeito Capital, Brandon Capital Partners, Novartis Venture Fund and Vesalius are also involved.
Expansion of the phase 2b development of Visugromab
CatalYm will use the funds to advance the development of its humanized monoclonal antibody Visugromab in Phase 2b trials. Visugromab neutralizes the tumor's own growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) - an immunosuppressive agent that promotes resistance to immunotherapies. High levels of GDF-15 in serum and the tumor environment help the tumor evade the immune system and are associated with resistance to currently available therapies. By neutralizing GDF-15, Visugromab reverses these resistance mechanisms, allowing immune cells to attack the tumor again.
At this year's annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago, CatalYm presented results from the ongoing "GDFATHER" Phase 1/2a study. Visugromab, in combination with the anti-PD-1 antibody nivolumab, demonstrated durable anti-tumor activity, including multiple complete remissions in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), urothelial carcinoma (UC) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
“This substantial raise and strong syndicate recognize our achievements as a company and emphasize the excellent results of visugromab and our broad Phase 2b clinical program.," said Dr. Phil L'Huillier, Managing Director and CEO of CatalYm.
CatalYm plans to initiate additional randomized, controlled trials in several key cancer indications in the first half of 2025. These will be conducted in combination with checkpoint inhibitors and standard-of-care in first- and second-line treatment.
At the end of 2023, CatalYm had already successfully completed a Series C financing of EUR 50 million, and two years earlier had also raised EUR 50 million in a Series B financing.