TILT Biotherapeutics has completed the first close of its financing round raising 10.7 million USD.

The round was led by Lifeline Ventures and was joined by Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment Ltd).

“We support resilient founders. We saw early on the enormous potential in TILT’s innovative approach to boost the patient’s T cell immune response to better enable it to find and destroy cancer cells,” says Lifeline Ventures’ Founding Partner, Timo Ahopelto.

Advance Phase I/II programs

The funding will be used to advance Phase I/II programs in Europe and the US, using TILT-123 plus immune checkpoint inhibitors against a range of cancers including ovarian, head & neck, and lung.

“TILT is one of the most promising biotech companies in Finland. We are excited to back the development of the company’s innovative treatments for cancer types with currently limited treatment options. Despite the enormous developments in cancer treatments over the past decade, there is still a significant need for new therapies,” says Miia Kaye, Investment Manager at Tesi.

New Chair of the Board

The company also announces the appointment of Dr. Tuija Keinonen, PhD (Pharm), as Chair of the Board. Tuija brings specialist industry experience in life sciences business development and clinical trial operations across Europe and Asia.

“I’m delighted to announce a solid financing for the company, and to warmly welcome Tuija Keinonen as Chair of the Board. Tuija brings a wealth of experience which will be a great asset as we progress our pipeline of armed oncolytic viruses. These are showing excellent potential in the clinic to increase the anti-tumor benefits of checkpoint inhibitors for a range of cancers where there’s a pressing need for better therapies,” says TILT Biotherapeutics’ founder and CEO, Akseli Hemminki.

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