OncoResponse Awarded $13 Million in Funding from CPRIT and Raises $14 Million in Added Funds from Investors to Advance Cancer Immunotherapy

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May 18, 2023, 08:00 ET

Funding from Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) and existing investors to support advancement of OR502

SEATTLE, May 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- OncoResponse, a clinical-stage biotech company advancing immunotherapies derived from the immune systems of Elite Cancer Responders, today announced it has been awarded a $13 million grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). The Company concurrently raised $14 million in new funding from existing investors, led by RiverVest Venture Partners and including ARCH Venture Partners, Canaan Partners, 3B Future Health Fund, Bering Capital, Takeda Ventures, InterVest and others.

The CPRIT award and investment will support the advancement of OR502, a best-in-class anti-LILRB2 antibody poised to move to IND and clinical studies. Funds from the existing syndicate will also support continued advancement of the Company's lead immunotherapy candidate OR2805, a fully human monoclonal antibody identified from an Elite Responder using OncoResponse's proprietary B-cell discovery platform. OR2805 is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial.

"We are thrilled to receive this recognition from CPRIT in supporting the potential of our immunotherapy candidate OR502. We greatly appreciate the additional support from our investors as we continue to make significant progress with our drug development efforts advancing immunotherapies derived from clues of Elite Responders," said Clifford Stocks, Chief Executive Officer of OncoResponse. "We are excited by the data generated to date supporting the ability of OR502 to modulate inhibitory macrophages in the tumor microenvironment and induce anti-tumor activity."

"We are pleased to support OncoResponse in their efforts to develop new and innovative immunotherapy treatments for cancer," said John McKearn, PhD, Managing Director of RiverVest Venture Partners. "The Company has made significant progress in building their pipeline and we look forward to further insights from future clinical studies."

About CPRIT

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) was created by the Texas Legislature and approved by a statewide vote in 2007 and reapproved in 2019 with an additional $3 billion investment to fund cancer research and prevention. CPRIT is now a $6 billion, 20-year initiative – the largest state cancer research investment in the history of the US. To date, the agency has awarded over $3 billion in grants to Texas research institutions and organizations through its academic research, prevention and product development research programs. Learn more at cprit.state.tx.us.

About OncoResponse

OncoResponse is a clinical-stage, immuno-oncology biotech company developing cancer immunotherapies using clues from the immune systems of Elite Cancer Responders. In a broad strategic alliance with MD Anderson Cancer Center, OncoResponse deploys a proprietary B-cell discovery platform to identify and develop novel antibodies targeting immune cells in the tumor microenvironment. The company's lead clinical candidate, OR2805 is a fully human antibody discovered using B cells derived from an Elite Responder to checkpoint inhibitor (CPI) therapy. OR2805 has entered cohort expansion trials in multiple cancer indications. Additional pipeline candidates that modulate suppressive macrophage activity are under development, including OR502, a best-in-class anti-LILRB2 antibody that rescues innate and adaptive immune responses from LILRB2-mediated immune suppression. OR502 will enter clinical studies in 2023. For more information please visit www.oncoresponse.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

SOURCE OncoResponse