Montréal-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Kainova Therapeutics (formerly Domain Therapeutics) has secured $32 million CAD in the first close of its Series B round.
Kainova, which announced the financing today, plans to use this capital to expedite the development of its proposed cancer and inflammation therapies.
“This investment is a testament to our clear and defined strategy [and] the biological differentiation of our programs.”
Sean MacDonald,
Kainova
The company has been working to develop better treatments for cancer and inflammatory diseases that target G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), which Kainova CEO Sean MacDonald described to BetaKit as “one of the most important families of receptors in the human body.”
“These receptors control how cells communicate, including how immune cells behave in tumours, so understanding and modulating them can have a major impact on patient outcomes,” MacDonald added.
Kainova’s latest equity financing, which closed in February, was led by new investor Investissement Québec, with support from existing backers CTI Life Sciences Fund, Panacea Venture, 3B Future Health Fund, Seventure Partners, Viva BioInnovator, Turenne Capital, Schroders Capital, adMare BioInnovations, and Seido Capital.
“This investment is a testament to our clear and defined strategy, the biological differentiation of our programs and a clinical-stage pipeline of unique drug candidates leveraging a proven platform,” MacDonald argued.
MacDonald did not share Kainova’s valuation or ultimate Series B target. The round brings its total venture capital to $90 million USD, a figure that includes a $42-million USD Series A round from 2022. Kainova has secured nearly $100 million USD in non-dilutive funding to date.
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Kainova, which was founded in 2008, claims that it is uniquely positioned to lead the GPCR field. The company, which rebranded from Domain last month, studies GPCRs in their native, dynamic states using its proprietary bioSens-All technology, which the company says gives it “a clearer understanding” of GPCRs and helps it design drug candidates with stronger potential.
The biopharma firm’s lead candidate is an antibody therapy called DT-7012, which is currently undergoing a Phase I/II clinical trial in Australia to evaluate its safety, impact, and efficacy when treating adult patients with selected advanced solid tumours. Simultaneously, Kainova is developing an oral drug candidate named DT-9046 that is designed to treat inflammatory diseases and progressing through pre-IND studies—meaning initial studies before drugs proceed to clinical trials, an early step on the path to the US FDA approval.
This Series B capital will help the 49-person company advance DT-7012 and complete preclinical development of DT-9046 this year.
In a statement, MacDonald said this financing “is especially significant given the current challenging fundraising market,” and demonstrates “exceptional science is still rewarded.”
Feature image courtesy Pexels. Photo by Chokniti Khongchum.