Financing co-led by Samsara Biocapital and Enavate Sciences, with participation from Pfizer Ventures and Regeneron Ventures in addition to other new and existing investors

Normunity’s lead program is a novel T cell engager against a tumor-specific target that is relevant in multiple solid tumors and has the potential to be leveraged for a range of biologic modalities

January 13, 2025 06:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

BOSTON & NEW HAVEN, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Normunity, a biotechnology company creating novel anti-cancer therapies, today announced that it has closed a Series B financing for $75 million. The financing was co-led by Samsara BioCapital and Enavate Sciences, alongside other new investors Regeneron Ventures, Pfizer Ventures and YK Bioventures, as well as existing investors Canaan Partners, Sanofi Ventures, Taiho Ventures, Osage Venture Partners, HongShan Capital Group, and Connecticut Innovations. The Board of Directors will be expanded to include David Parry, PhD (Samsara), Sara Nayeem, MD (Enavate) and Marie-Clare Peakman, MD (Pfizer Ventures).

“We are excited to support the development of NRM-823, which has many characteristics of an ideal T cell engager and has demonstrated compelling preclinical efficacy and safety.”Post this

“We are delighted to secure this financing from such an experienced and well-respected syndicate of life sciences investors. Their support will enable Normunity to continue our strong momentum and advance our lead drug program NRM-823 into the clinic this year and explore other modalities with this exciting tumor specific target,” said Rachel Humphrey, MD, founding Chief Executive Officer of Normunity. “With our proprietary target discovery process, we will continue to build our pipeline around novel targets, with new biological insights that could translate into life-changing medicines for cancer patients.”

Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance Normunity’s lead program, NRM-823, a first-in-class T cell engager that binds a novel, highly specific tumor target expressed on multiple types of solid tumors. The company plans to initiate the Phase 1 clinical trial of NRM-823 in 2H 2025 and leverage its prior work by advancing other modalities against this tumor-specific target, including antibody‑drug conjugates and radiotheranostics. The funding will also be used to advance Normunity’s pipeline of programs that address novel targets responsible for tumor-specific immune suppression. These pipeline candidates derive from Normunity’s proprietary target discovery process, conducted in collaboration with the lab of Professor Lieping Chen, MD PhD, at the Yale University School of Medicine, and built on insights into untapped biological mechanisms that occur from the complex interactions of the immune system and cancer.

“Normunity has an outstanding team that has made impressive progress in discovering and advancing an exciting cancer drug program in NRM-823, which has the potential to address a previously unrecognized target that plays a role in supporting cancer survival across a range of solid tumors,” said David Parry, PhD, Venture Partner at Samsara BioCapital. “We look forward to working with the Normunity team as they continue to advance NRM-823 and other novel agents in the pipeline.”

“The T cell engager space has seen multiple recent successes in solid tumors, and we believe this modality is poised to transform the treatment of numerous cancers in the coming years,” said Sara Nayeem, MD, EVP, Investments at Enavate Sciences. “We are excited to support the development of NRM-823, which has many characteristics of an ideal T cell engager and has demonstrated compelling preclinical efficacy and safety.”

About Normunity

Normunity is a biotechnology company creating novel anti-cancer therapies that address untapped biology at the interface of the immune system and the tumor to target mechanisms that impact tumor growth and circumvent immune surveillance and tumor clearance. The company is using these novel targets to build a pipeline of anti-cancer medicines, including therapeutic antibodies, bispecific antibodies, and payload-carrying biologics. The company’s lead program, NRM‑823, is a T cell engager with tumor-specific targeting for multiple solid tumors and is expected to enter the clinic in 2025. Normunity is located in Boston, MA, and New Haven, CT. For more information, please visit www.normunity.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

Contacts

Kathryn Morris, The Yates Network LLC
914-204-6412
kathryn@theyatesnetwork.com

(c)2024 Business Wire, Inc., All rights reserved.