The tSVP platform creates synthetic nanoparticles that are fully integrated and mimic natural pathogens.
Selecta Biosciences, a company developing synthetic nanoparticle vaccines, today announced raising $15 million in a Series C financing. This takes the total money raised by Selecta over the past 15 months to above $30 million.
Proceeds from the latest round will be used to expand development of synthetic vaccines for prophylactic and therapeutic indications based on the company’s targeted Synthetic Vaccine Particle (tSVP™) platform. The lead candidate will enter Phase I testing in 2011, Selecta reports.
“This new financing will advance our breakthrough tSVP platform and take our lead product candidate through the initial clinical proof of concept evaluations,” says Lloyd Johnston, Ph.D., vp of pharmaceutical R&D of Selecta.
The tSVP platform is based on biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles that fully integrate all the vaccine components for more effective targeting to immune cells for optimal cellular or humoral immune response, according to the company. The tSVP vaccines mimic the structure of natural pathogens with regard to size, shape, and the sequence of immunological information that they deliver to immune cells.
Selecta believes that these attributes of full integration, targeting, and natural structure conferred by the tSVP platform create synthetic nanoparticle vaccines that are engineered for unprecedented safety and efficacy. The company says that it is developing vaccines for a range of clinical applications including infectious, metabolic, CNS, and inflammatory diseases.
In connection with the Series C financing, Carl L. Gordon, Ph.D., founding general partner of OrbiMed, which led the round, will join Selecta’s board. Existing investors, Polaris Venture Partners, Flagship Ventures, NanoDimension, and Leukon Investments, also participated in the round.
