Forty Seven Inc., a clinical-stage company developing the next generation of immuno-oncology treatments, announced the completion of a $75 million Series B financing.
The funds will be used to support continued development of Hu5F9-G4, an antibody against CD47, which takes the brakes off macrophages in a similar way as checkpoint inhibitors take the brakes off T-cells. The company is already evaluating Hu5F9-G4 in five ongoing monotherapy Phase 1b and combination therapy Phase 1b/2 trials, in patients with solid tumors, leukemia or lymphoma. These trials will be expanded and new trials commenced combining Hu5F9-G4 with T-cell checkpoint inhibitors. Forty Seven believes targeting the CD47/SIRP-alpha pathway provides a unique platform to harness the power of the patient’s immune system to defeat their cancer.
The financing was led by new investor Wellington Management Company LLP with participation from existing investors Clarus, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sutter Hill Ventures and GV (Google Ventures).
“Forty Seven continues to make tremendous progress across multiple clinical trials,” said CEO Mark McCamish. “The financing allows us to rigorously explore the clinical response of different tumors to Hu5F9-G4 mono- and combination therapy and determine the optimal pathway to rapidly bring this new treatment option to patients.”
Dr. Dennis Henner, Board member and Managing Director at Clarus said “Forty Seven’s Hu5F9-G4 is a first-in-class CD47 antagonist that, based on strong science, preclinical and emerging clinical data, has potential applications in many different tumor types as a monotherapy or in combination therapy with tumor-targeting antibodies and potentially with other immuno-oncology agents. With this new financing, the company will be able to generate clinical data in multiple settings and will be well positioned to initiate registration trials.”
