Hervolution ApS

COPENHAGEN, Denmark and NEW YORK, Dec. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- HERVOLUTION Therapeutics ApS ('HERVOLUTION'), a pioneering biotechnology company focused on developing novel immunotherapies to treat dark genome targets in cancer, aging, and neurodegeneration, today announces the appointment of J. Robert Coleman, PhD, MBA as its Chief Executive Officer. J. Robert Coleman PhD, MBA, has over 12 years' experience in building successful biotech companies, with a particular focus on driving platform technologies from initial innovation to Phase 3 clinical trials - ultimately enabling the development of multi-asset, multi-disease area pipelines. Dr Coleman co-founded and was CEO of Codagenix where he secured up to $498M in public and private financing to support early and late-stage development of viral-based vaccines and therapeutics - understanding all aspects of manufacturing, regulatory, and clinical design. His skillset is advancing groundbreaking preclinical discoveries into first-in-human proof of concept trials and beyond; thus, Coleman's expertise aligns seamlessly with HERVOLUTION's mission. The human genomes encode Human Endogenous Retroviral genes (HERVs) that remain as part of the dark genome from retroviral infections of our predecessors. These HERVs are not expressed in healthy cells but become activated in cancer, aging, and neurodegeneration. HERVs have escaped immune targeting as they are normally recognized as "self". Now, HERVOLUTION has a proprietary approach to immune target HERVs using rationally designed HERV antigens that break tolerance and enable the immune system to kill cells expressing HERVs and blocking HERVs from propagating further disease. Sven Rohmann, MD, Phd, MBA, Chairman of HERVOLUTION, stated: "We are so delighted to welcome Rob to the HERVOLUTION team. His exceptional leadership, strategic acumen, and deep understanding of the biotech landscape makes him the ideal entrepreneur to launch the Company towards achieving its transformative vision. Rob's ability to navigate the journey from early-stage innovation to clinical advancement will undoubtedly play a pivotal role in realizing the full potential of HERVOLUTION's pioneering immunotherapies." J. Robert Coleman, newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of HERVOLUTION, commented: "We have the ideal blend for an emerging biotech - innovative, differentiated, and proprietary science combined with a dedicated and motivated team to bring forward a transformative, multi-dimensional immunotherapy platform. HERVOLUTION's pipeline includes therapies that target HERV expression in prostate, pancreatic, breast and other cancers, as well as in senescent cells and degenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). I look forward to working with the talented team to unlock the full potential of HERVs, ultimately changing the landscape of cancer and aging therapeutics." HERVOLUTION is committed to revolutionizing immunotherapy by targeting HERVs as tumor and senescence-specific antigens, antigens that had until now remained elusive for immunotherapy. About HERVOLUTION Therapeutics: HERVOLUTION Therapeutics (formerly InProTher Aps) is a biotechnology company based in Copenhagen, Denmark, and expanding into the US via Dr. Coleman's appointment. The vision of HERVOLUTION is to lead the development of novel immunotherapies that target the Human Endogenous Retroviruses (HERVs) as tumor and senescence-specific antigens. HERVOLUTION will solve bottlenecks and unleash the full potential of immuno-oncology. To date, HERVOLUTION has put in place a world-class scientific team and created an emerging product development pipeline, including a leading programme targeted to enter clinic in 2024. Initial investors in HERVOLUTION include the BioInnovation Institute (Novo Nordisk Foundation), Vaekstfonden (Denmark), the European Innovation Council Fund, and expert Business Angels. For more information, please visit: Hervolutiontx.com SOURCE HERVOLUTION Therapeutics

Danish start-up developing immunotherapies designed to fight the tumors from within Financing supports GMP and toxicology studies and will advance InProTher's first-in-class cancer immunotherapy into First-in-Human clinical trials Strengthens team with appointment of industry heavyweights Dr. Sven Rohmann as Chairman and Dr. Hamina Patel as CMO COPENHAGEN, Denmark, May 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- InProTher, an early-stage biotechnology company developing effective immunotherapies targeting the Human Endogenous Retroviruses (HERVs), today announces that it has raised EUR 6M Seed funding from private investors, with participation from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund. The financing will enable InProTher to advance its lead drug candidate, IPT001, a first-in-class immunotherapy against solid tumors, into clinical development. Incubated at the BioInnovation Institute (BII) and seeded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, InProTher was established to develop immunotherapies designed to overcome the limitations of cancer vaccines. InProTher is targeting the Human Endogenous Retroviruses (HERVs) to treat cancer. HERVS are well recognized as tumor specific antigens, but until now, have been undruggable. InProTher is targeting HERV tumor antigens with powerful technology that stimulates both arms of the immune system, the humoral and the cellular response. The Company delivers the immunogen by using Adenoviral and RNA vectors. InProTher has generated robust pre-clinical, proof-of-concept data that demonstrates therapeutic potential for multiple oncology indications including pancreatic, ovarian, breast and prostate cancer. It plans to enter First-In-Human (FIH) trials in 2024. To support its growth, InProTher has appointed Dr Hamina Patel, MD, as Chief Medical Officer, and Dr Sven Rohmann, MD, PhD, MBA as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Jordi Naval, Chief Executive Officer of InProTher said: "InProTher is shifting the paradigm in cancer immunotherapy and is at an exciting phase of growth. Our aim is to unlock the full potential of immunotherapy in cancer. We believe InProTher can solve the limitations of current cancer vaccines, as our pre-clinical data has shown that our immunotherapy induces higher tumor control, survival rate and tumor efficacy, compared to other competing approaches. I am very pleased to welcome Sven and Hamina to InProTher. Their expertise and track record of success will be invaluable as we accelerate the development of our lead candidate into clinical development." Hermann Hauser, the EIC Fund Board member commented: "The EIC Fund has established itself as a strong force in EU deep-tech investments. This unique form of financing via EIC combining grants and equity is proving itself highly attractive to Europe's most promising start-ups." Dr Sven Rohmann, newly appointed Chairman added: "I am thrilled to have joined the Board of Directors of InProTher at this time of company expansion. The Company is working on cutting-edge technology at the forefront of cancer immunotherapies, and I look forward to taking this technology into clinics." Dr Patel has over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry with proven track record of leadership roles in clinical development, oncology and global commercialization, having previously held positions as Director of Drug Development, Oncology, at Johnson and Johnson, where she helped build a broad and differentiated portfolio of indications for the cancer drug VELCADE. Dr Rohmann is experienced in General Management and leadership and has a track record in raising funds for SMEs and public companies. He has extensive international experience in M&A, business and corporate development, clinical development, strategic marketing and portfolio management in small- and large-scale Venture Capital Financing at Merck, Novartis and MPM Bio IV NVS Strategic Fund. The Seed round of EUR 6M includes private investors and a convertible loan from EICF. InProTher is planning to raise an additional Series A to finance the pivot from preclinical to clinical development. About InProTher InProTher is a biotechnology company based in Copenhagen, Denmark. The vision of InProTher is to lead the development of novel immunotherapies that target the Human Endogenous Retroviruses (HERVs) as tumor-specific antigens. InProTher will solve bottlenecks and unleash the full potential of immuno-oncology, not only in terms of cancer vaccines but also in further expanding the use of checkpoint inhibitors to multiple indications and patient populations. To date, InProTher has put in place a world-class scientific team and created an emerging product development pipeline, including a leading programme targeted to enter clinics in 2024. Initial investors in InProTher include the BioInnovation Institute (Novo Foundation), and Vaekstfonden (Denmark). About the EIC Fund The European Innovation Council Fund from the European Commission is an agnostic Fund: it invests across all technologies and verticals, and all EU countries and countries associated to Horizon Europe. It provides the investment component of the EIC Accelerator blended finance. The EIC Fund aims to fill a critical financing gap and its main purpose is to support companies in the development and commercialisation of disruptive technologies, bridging with and crowding in market players, and further sharing risk by building a large network of capital providers and strategic partners suitable for co-investments and follow-on funding. The Fund pays particular attention to the empowerment and support of female founders as well as the ambition to reduce the innovation divide among EU countries. SOURCE InProTher