Kupando, a pioneering biopharmaceutical company developing TLR 4/7 agonists that stimulate innate immunity for use in oncology and infectious diseases, announces today the closing of its Series A funding round which raised €13 million.

The funds will be used to complete IND-enabling work and to initiate the clinical development of Kupando’s lead candidate KUP101 in a solid tumor indication. KUP101 is the only TLR 4/7 agonist in development, and consists of two small molecules, a TLR 4 agonist and a TLR 7 agonist, co-encapsulated in a liposomal formulation. The compounds induce a broad immune response, which will facilitate their development as an anti-tumor agent, as a stand-alone product, in combination with other anti-tumor modalities, or a prophylactic vaccine for infectious diseases. The induction of cross-reactive antibodies and a broad cellular response are promising features for a broad portfolio of indications, in particular where different strains and antigens play a role like influenza, HPV and others. A high target specificity in the absence of relevant off-targets are indicators for a promising safety profile.

The investment was led by Remiges Ventures and co-led by LifeCare Partners with an additional investment by Brandenburg Kapital, High-Tech Gründerfonds, Ventura Biomed Investors and undisclosed family offices.

Kazuhiko Nonomura, PhD Principal at Remiges Ventures, the lead investor said: “We are impressed by the tremendous progress made by Kupando since its inception. Kupando is a real pioneer in the development of a novel innate immunity stimulator, and we look forward to working with the team and supporting the advancement of KUP101 into clinical development.”

Pierre Morgon, PharmD, LL.M, MBA, Chairman at Kupando commented: “We are welcoming all our new investors of this round. We thank them for their trust in this truly disruptive approach which has the potential to provide new therapeutic and prophylactic options in the fields of oncology and infectious diseases. We believe that the highly experienced management team will enable the company to progress through this next stage of development.”

Johanna Holldack, CEO at Kupando added: “Having new investors choosing to fund us is a great validation of our company strategy and pioneering approach, and we look forward to advancing our lead candidate towards clinical development thanks to their support. It is really exciting to now have the opportunity to develop compounds that can make a difference in the treatment of solid tumors and prevention of infectious diseases in terms of efficacy, safety and affordability.

The Kupando Board comprises of Pierre Morgon, PharmD, LL.M, MBA, as Chairman and Wolfram Nothaft, MD, as Deputy Chairman, and of three Board members: Kazuhiko Nonomura, PhD (representing Remiges Ventures), Gerhard Ries, PhD (representing LifeCare Partners) and Thomas Krause (representing Brandenburg Kapital).