Jerusalem-based cancer treatment startup Kahr Medical Ltd. has raised $18 million. The round was led by Flerie Invest AB, Oriella Limited, Hadasit Bio-Holdings (HBL), Pavilion Capital, and Mirae Asset Venture Investment.
Kahr Medical is a biopharmaceutical company that is developing a novel drug platform based on bi-functional, immunotherapeutic fusion proteins known as Dual Signaling Proteins (DSP). The company says that the proceeds of the current round will be used for advancing its next generation immuno-oncology drug candidates, including the clinical development of its lead product DSP107, an anti-CD47 therapy for the treatment of solid tumors, through a Phase I/II study, and for the preclinical advancement of additional pipeline projects.
In September 2019, Kahr Medical announced a clinical collaboration with Roche to evaluate its lead program, DSP107, in combination with Roche's PD-L1-blocking checkpoint inhibitor atezolizumab (Tecentriq) in patients with advanced NSCLC (non-small-cell lung carcinoma) who are refractory to existing immune checkpoint inhibitors. Kahr Medical expects to begin a Phase I/II trial in the second half of 2020, following the filing of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the US Food Drug Administration (FDA).
"We are grateful to our existing investors for their continued support and are pleased to welcome Oriella, a prominent private equity and technology investor in Israel, with an expanding focus on life sciences," said Kahr Medical CEO Yaron Pereg. "We are also proud to have Pavilion Capital join our investor base. Pavilion Capital brings a track record of success and expertise in the biopharmaceutical sector. We look forward to using this funding for advancing our next-generation immuno-oncology pipeline for the benefit of patients, who are non-responsive or refractory to existing immunotherapies."
Kahr Medical was represented by Advs. Yael Baratz and Michael Nussbaum of the Pearl Cohen Zedek Latzer Baratz law firm.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on February 25, 2020
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