Basel-based biotech company Nouscom has raised €120 million ($135 million) in an oversubscribed Series D funding round. The company focuses on developing new cancer treatments that aim to help the immune system identify and fight cancer at an early stage.
The company will use the funding to advance the development of an experimental, ready-to-use cancer immunotherapy based on neoantigens. These are markers that can help the immune system recognise cancer cells and target them.
The funding round was co-led by M Ventures and Revelation Partners. New investors included Angelini Ventures, the European Investment Bank (EIB), and Neva SGR, part of Intesa Sanpaolo Group.
Existing investors also participated in the round, including 5AM Ventures, Andera Partners, Bpifrance, CDP Venture Capital, EQT Life Sciences, Indaco Venture Partners, Panakes Partners, Versant Ventures, and XGEN Ventures.
“Over two million LS carriers live with up to an 80% lifetime cancer risk and nothing to offer them but surveillance and surgery“, says Marina Udier, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Nouscom. “We built Nouscom to change that equation. This financing, alongside the data we are presenting at ESMO, puts us closer to a world where cancer is stopped before it starts. I am grateful to our new and existing investors for backing that conviction, and to the team behind NOUS-209.”
“This significant financing reflects the confidence of our investors in Nouscom’s vision, team and the transformative potential of cancer interception,” said Göran Ando, M.D., Independent Chair of the Board of Nouscom. “With this backing, we are well positioned to accelerate NOUS-209’s clinical development and our commitment to those living with Lynch Syndrome. I am delighted to welcome our new investors, whose support further strengthens Nouscom as we enter this next chapter.”
Founded in 2015, Nouscom is a biotechnology company developing new cancer treatments that use the body’s immune system to fight the disease. Its research focuses on treating cancer at different stages, from detecting and preventing it early to treating advanced cancer that has spread to other parts of the body.
The company uses its own viral vector technology to deliver specially designed neoantigens. These are markers that help train the immune system to recognise and attack cancer cells, potentially creating a strong and lasting immune response.
Nouscom’s leading programme, NOUS-209, is an experimental, ready-to-use cancer immunotherapy being developed to help prevent cancer in people with Lynch syndrome (LS) and treat metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) with high levels of microsatellite instability (MSI).
The company is also developing NOUS-PEV, a personalised cancer immunotherapy designed for individual patients. The treatment has completed a Phase 1b clinical trial, and the company has published results from the study.
Dr. Hakan Goker, Managing Director and Head of Biotechnology Investments at M Ventures, says: “What sets Nouscom apart is its unique cancer interception approach and the platform that enables it. Maturing clinical evidence and a regulatory-aligned path into a registration-enabling trial in such an unchartered space is a rare combination for a private biotech company and the commitment of the investor syndicate underpins this deep conviction.”
The Series D funding will help Nouscom advance the development of NOUS-209, an experimental, ready-to-use cancer immunotherapy. The company plans to conduct a global clinical trial to evaluate the treatment’s potential to prevent cancer in people with Lynch syndrome, a genetic condition that increases the risk of developing certain cancers. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted NOUS-209 Fast Track designation to help speed up its development and review.
