Singapore-based biotechnology startup Tikva Allocell has announced raising $8 million in its Series A funding round to advance its lead cell therapy candidate into human clinical trials.
The round was anchored by boutique private equity firm Kantharos Capital, according to the announcement.
Tikva said it will use the proceeds of the funding round to finance investigational new drug (IND)-enabling studies for TAVST01 and support a planned IND submission by the end of 2026.
Subject to regulatory clearance, Tikva expects to begin a Phase 1 clinical trial in patients with advanced B7-H3-positive solid tumours at sites in Singapore and the US.
The funding comes as biotechnology companies seek to extend the success of cell therapies beyond blood cancers into solid tumours, where treatment has proved more difficult because donor-derived immune cells are often rapidly eliminated by patients’ immune systems.
“Cell therapy has transformed the treatment of blood cancers but has repeatedly stalled at the solid-tumor door,” founder and Chief Executive Officer Ivan Horak said in a statement.
He said the financing would enable the company to complete preclinical development and move the therapy toward clinical testing.
The company’s lead candidate, TAVST01, is designed to target B7-H3, a protein commonly found in solid tumours including lung, breast, prostate, pancreatic and several paediatric cancers.
Tikva, headquartered in Singapore, was co-founded by Horak together with cell therapy researchers Malcolm Brenner, Cliona Rooney and Helen Heslop.
Its technology platform is exclusively licensed from Baylor College of Medicine and has been further developed using the company’s proprietary protein-engineering approach.
Kantharos Capital Managing Partner Terence Tan said the investment reflected confidence in Tikva’s platform.
“Tikva is addressing fundamental challenges that have constrained allogeneic cell therapies, and we believe its ALLO SerpinB9 EBVST platform can extend the reach of cell therapy to solid-tumor patients who today have limited options,” Tan said.
The financing follows another fundraising by a Singapore biotechnology startup. Brano Therapeutics recently raised $6.8 million in a seed round after being spun off from Duke-NUS Medical School.
The round was led by Trinity Innovation Bioventure Singapore and SEEDS Capital, with backing from SGInnovate and Duke-NUS’ LIVE Ventures.
