According to PRNewswire.com, Cytovant Sciences ("Cytovant"), a biopharmaceutical company founded by Roivant Sciences focused on developing and commercializing innovative cellular therapeutics in Asia, has announced the completion of a fundraising round with a US$23.5 million investment from BNH Investment, POSCO Capital, Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Smilegate Investment, and other leading Korean healthcare and venture capital investors.
Cytovant is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative cellular therapeutics in Asia. Cytovant's technology platform is built on complementary immunotherapeutic approaches, including TCR-transgenic T-cell (TCR-T) and dendritic cell (DC) vaccine therapeutics.
Cytovant's lead cell therapy program for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), CVT-DC-01, is based on DC vaccine technology in-licensed from Medigene in April 2019. Medigene recently reported positive topline data from a Phase 1/2 study in which 20 AML patients were treated with their DC vaccine FDC101 for 24 months following induction or consolidation therapy. Treatment with the vaccine was shown to be feasible, safe and well-tolerated over the 2-year treatment period.
Cytovant intends to use the proceeds of this funding round to advance both CVT-DC-01 and its lead TCR-T candidate, CVT-TCR-01, into the clinic in Asia.
"Asian patients have unique immunologic features and are treated in healthcare systems that may differ markedly from their Western counterparts. Our strategy is to develop treatments to address those needs precisely," said Dr. John Xu, President of Cytovant. "This financing will rapidly accelerate the development of our medicines for patients in China, Korea, and Japan."
About Mirae Asset Venture Investment (Mirae Asset)
Mirae Asset invests in specialized enterprises and provides technology, funding and management consulting. With a fundamental investment philosophy of "Building on principles", Mirae Asset.has become Asia's premier financial group and created new trends in the Asian capital market.
About Smilegate Investment
Smilegate Investment, founded in 1999 originally as MVP Capital, is a venture capital and private equity firm that has been growing remarkably alongside its invested companies. From its initial venture capital funding in 2000, the company has since organized and managed more than 30 venture capital and private equity funds, and has invested in more than 200 companies with promising growth potential.