Genocea Closes $30 Million in Series C Financing

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Genocea Biosciences, Inc., a clinical-stage company advancing innovative T cell vaccines for infectious diseases, has raised $30 million in a Series C financing round. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and CVF, LLC, an affiliate of Henry Crown and Company, are participating alongside all of Genocea's existing investors, including Polaris Venture Partners, Lux Capital, SR One, Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation, Skyline Ventures, Cycad Group, Auriga Partners, MP Healthcare Ventures and Morningside. With the close of this financing round, Genocea has raised a total of $76 million in equity financing to date.

"We have made strong progress in our effort to create a new class of vaccines capable of combating serious infectious diseases that current vaccine discovery technologies cannot address," said Chip Clark, chief executive officer at Genocea. "Completion of this financing round is a powerful vote of confidence from the financial community that will enable us to move aggressively to create new vaccines that will improve the health of patients around the world."

Funds raised will support the continued development of Genocea's two lead programs: GEN-003, a clinical-stage therapeutic vaccine candidate designed to reduce the frequency and severity of clinical outbreaks associated with moderate-to-severe Herpes Simplex Virus type 2 (HSV-2), and GEN-004, a preclinical vaccine candidate to prevent infections caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae. In addition Genocea will expand its malaria program in collaboration with The Foundation, using Genocea's proprietary ATLAS™ platform to profile the immune response of volunteers participating in Foundation-sponsored malaria vaccine trials, to identify antigens for potential inclusion in a protein subunit vaccine.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation made this equity investment as part of an initiative that commits $1 billion to program-related investments to deepen the impact of The Foundation's work. "We are excited about the potential of the partnership with Genocea to further our global health priorities," said Trevor Mundel, president of Global Health at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "T cell innovation of this kind presents an intriguing opportunity to advance our global health mission through development of a new class of vaccines."

Genocea is currently enrolling a Phase 1/2a study of GEN-003 and expects to report preliminary data in the second half of 2013. The company anticipates beginning clinical trials in late 2013 for GEN-004, a next-generation vaccine to address Pneumococcal infections, which currently drives the largest global vaccine market, by value. GEN-004 is designed to cover all serotypes of Pneumococcus, rather than the select strains addressed by existing vaccines, and to affect nasopharyngeal colonization caused by Pneumococcus via a T_H17 mediated mechanism of action which complements the B cell-mediated effect of existing vaccines.

About Genocea Biosciences

Genocea Biosciences is harnessing the power of the T cell immunity to develop the next generation of vaccines. T cells are increasingly recognized as a critical element of a protective immune response to a wide range of infectious disease pathogens, but are difficult to target using traditional vaccine discovery methods. Genocea is uniquely able to identify and employ T cell antigens using ATLAS™, its proprietary technology platform, which mimics human T cell immune response in the laboratory, potentially improving the effectiveness of vaccine candidates and drastically reducing the time needed to create them.

Genocea's pipeline of novel T cell vaccines includes a clinical-stage program in Herpes Simplex Virus type 2 (HSV-2) therapy and GEN-004 for Pneumococcus, as well as earlier-stage programs for Chlamydia, HSV-2 prophylaxis and malaria.

About GEN-003

GEN-003 is a first-in-class, protein subunit, therapeutic T cell vaccine intended to reduce recurrence and transmission of Herpes Simplex Virus type 2 (HSV-2). GEN-003 includes the antigens ICP-4 and gD2, as well as the proprietary adjuvant Matrix-M™, licensed from Isconova AB. The adjuvant is a novel, saponin-derived product that has demonstrated a balanced B and T cell immunostimulatory profile. A Phase 1/2a clinical study is currently underway to determine the safety, tolerability and efficacy of GEN-003. If approved, GEN-003 will be the first therapeutic vaccine to address an infectious disease.

About GEN-004

GEN-004 is Genocea's candidate prophylactic vaccine designed to protect against infections caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae. Genocea, in concert with partners PATH and Children's Hospital Boston, deployed ATLAS™ to select and validate antigens that elicit TH17 immune responses. Preclinical studies have shown GEN-004 to be effective in eliminating nasopharyngeal carriage in mouse models and the company expects to initiate a clinical program in 2013. If approved, GEN-004 will offer significant benefits over existing vaccines, including more complete serotype coverage.

For more information, please visit the company's website at Genocea.com.

For information contact:
Jessica Rowlands
Feinstein Kean Healthcare
202-729-4089
[email protected]

SOURCE Genocea Biosciences, Inc.

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