New Investment

IMMAGENE ANNOUNCES SEED INVESTMENT ROUND TO PROGRESS NOVEL IMMUNO-ONCOLOGY THERAPEUTICS

OSS, THE NETHERLANDS, NOVEMBER 1ST, 2021

Immagene B.V. today announces it has raised a seed financing round to advance its next-generation precision Immuno-Oncology (IO) therapeutics. BOM Brabant Ventures joined as a new investor with additional support from existing investors Swanbridge Capital and Oncode Oncology Bridge Fund.  

Immagene further announces the appointment of Jac Wijkmans as Chief Scientific Officer, bringing in his extensive drug development experience. The executive team, consisting of CEO Maarten Ligtenberg and CSO Jac Wijkmans, is being supported by a seasoned Supervisory Board consisting of Martine van Vugt, Nicky Rijk-Vogels (Swanbridge Capital), Shobhit Dhawan (Oncode Oncology Bridge Fund) and Allard Kaptein who will act as chairman of the board.

Immagene was founded in 2020 based on the research in the laboratories of Oncode Investigator professor Daniel Peeper and professor Christian Blank, both at the Netherlands Cancer Institute. The company will use the new funding to further develop its proprietary pipeline of targeted immunotherapies for cancer patients utilizing its Immunogram approach. This approach identifies limitations of state-of-the-art cancer immunotherapies, allows for guided target identification, and patient stratification to enhance outcomes.

Maarten Ligtenberg, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Immagene, said:

“I am excited that this syndicate of investors has come together to support the further development of our IO programs, and I’d like to welcome BOM Ventures as investor. I am especially pleased that industry veteran and experienced R&D executive Jac Wijkmans will be joining our team as CSO to direct our drug development endeavors.”

Jac Wijkmans, PhD, is a Medicinal Chemist with more than 25 years of industrial pharma experience in leading R&D operations and managing complex multidisciplinary innovation projects and processes across national and international organizational levels and divisions. Wijkmans held multiple senior management positions spanning the full spectrum of the industry from academic spin-offs (Oxford Asymmetry, Griffin Discoveries) and mid-size biotech (British Biotech, OSI Pharmaceuticals, uniQure) to Big Pharma (MSD, Schering-Plough, Organon). Under his leadership, multiple drug candidates were optimized and selected for pre-clinical and clinical studies.

Dr. Jac Wijkmans, Chief Scientific Officer of Immagene, said:

“It is an honor to become part of Immagene’s executive team and to lead the translation of the scientific innovations into new, more effective, and tailored immunotherapies for cancer patients. This new seed round demonstrates the great confidence our investors have in us to further unlock the considerable potential our platform presents.” 

Mercedes Tuin, Investment Manager and Sector Lead Health at BOM, said:

“Immagene’s platform-based target selection has shown the potential to identify novel targets for which it is developing new small molecules for effective immunotherapy in cancer. This approach fits well with our focus and the strength of the local ecosystem in IO and precision medicine. We are excited to work with the team to advance their groundbreaking therapies. ”

About Immagene

Immagene B.V. is a private biotech company developing next-generation precision Immuno-Oncology treatments. Founded on world-leading research from the Netherlands Cancer Institute and drug R&D expertise from industry veterans, Immagene is dedicated to transforming cancer treatment.  

For more information: www.immagene.com

About the Brabant Development Agency (BOM)

The Brabant Development Agency (BOM) stands for a future-proof Brabant economy for Brabant. Our activities are developing, investing and internationalizing of companies in Brabant. Together with entrepreneurs we work on sustainable food systems, vital care systems, climate-proof energy solutions and the development of promising key technologies.

In order to keep healthcare systems effective and affordable, BOM focuses on personalized treatment methods and therapeutics, digital care and applications of key technologies such as photonics, nanotechnology and robotics.

For more information: www.bom.nl

About Swanbridge Capital (SBC)

Swanbridge Capital is an early-stage venture capital fund that is focused on (pre-)seed investments in the life sciences industry. The fund invests in the development of novel therapies, diagnostics and medical devices. Swanbridge Capital was founded in 2016 and is based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

For more information: www.swanbridgecapital.nl.

About Oncode Oncology Bridge Fund (OBF)

Oncode Oncology Bridge Fund provides early stage investments to support the creation and growth of new enterprises based on highly innovative science performed by researchers at the Oncode Institute. The fund was established in 2019 to accelerate breakthrough discoveries and speed up their translation into new diagnostics and therapies for cancer patients.

 For more information: https://www.oncode.nl/valorization/for-researchers/oncology-bridge-fund