LONDON: Schroders Capital Global Innovation Trust has made a commitment of CHF 0.9 million (£0.8 million) to Memo Therapeutics AG, a Switzerland-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company.
The Company participated in Memo’s Series C financing round, which raised CHF 25 million and was led by Pureos Bioventures. Existing investors Swisscanto, Vesalius Biocapital, Adjuvant Capital, Verve Ventures, GF Group, Fresenius Medical Care Ventures, and Red Alpine also joined the round.
Memo Therapeutics AG develops novel therapeutic antibodies for patients with viral infections and cancer. Memo’s unique antibody discovery and functional screening platform enables the identification, isolation, and selection of antibodies from patient samples or vaccinated animals. This technology helps Memo to discover antibodies with the potential to treat diseases using rare antibodies that other methods might miss.
The Series C funding will support Memo in completing the U.S. Phase II clinical development of their leading antibody, AntiBKV.
This antibody is designed to neutralize BK virus (BKV) infection in kidney transplant recipients. BKV infection can have serious adverse effects on graft function and patient survival following a transplantation procedure.
Currently there are no regulatory approved therapeutics to treat BVK infection in kidney transplant recipients.
With Phase II clinical data expected in 2024, the funding will also enable Memo to prepare for large-scale manufacturing of AntiBKV for a Phase III study and potential market entry. Additionally, the investment will help Memo advance its pipeline of other experimental antibody therapeutics.
Tim Creed, Lead Portfolio Manager, and Harry Raikes, Co-Portfolio Manager commented: “This is the seventh new investment in our portfolio sub-strategy of backing innovative life science companies at the near-clinical or clinical stage of development. We believe Memo is a highly complementary addition to the company’s portfolio.
AntiBKV has solid pre-clinical efficacy and clinical safety data with near term Phase II clinical efficacy data expected in 2024. A positive phase II readout has the potential to drive a significant value inflection for Memo and may enable a material improvement in the quality of life for kidney transplant recipients with BKV infection.”