Normunity, a biotechnology company focused on developing novel anti-cancer therapies, has announced the closing of a $75 million Series B financing round. The funding will primarily support the clinical development of NRM-823, the company's lead program, a potential first-in-class T-cell engager (TCE) targeting solid tumors. This financing round was co-led by Samsara BioCapital and Enavate Sciences, with participation from Pfizer Ventures, Regeneron Ventures, Sanofi Ventures, Taiho Ventures, and other new and existing investors.
NRM-823: A Novel Approach to Solid Tumor Therapy
NRM-823 is an engineered antibody designed to redirect T cells to attack cancer cells. It achieves this by binding to a highly specific tumor-associated target expressed across multiple solid tumor types. This novel target makes NRM-823 a promising candidate for addressing cancers that are often challenging to treat with existing therapies. The company plans to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial for NRM-823 in the second half of 2025.
Expanding the Pipeline and Targeting Immune Suppression
The $75 million in funding will not only support the clinical advancement of NRM-823 but also enable the expansion of Normunity’s pipeline. The company is focusing on novel targets implicated in tumor-specific immune suppression, aiming to develop therapies that can overcome the mechanisms tumors use to evade immune detection and destruction.
T-Cell Engagers: A Promising Immunotherapy Modality
TCEs are a class of immunotherapies that direct T cells to recognize and eliminate cancer cells. Recent developments in this field suggest significant potential for transforming cancer treatment, particularly for solid tumors, which have historically been less responsive to traditional immunotherapies. The success of TCEs in solid tumors has garnered significant attention and investment in the pharmaceutical industry.
Sara Nayeem, Executive Vice President of Investments at Enavate Sciences, stated, "The T-cell engager space has seen multiple recent successes in solid tumours, and we believe this modality is poised to transform the treatment of numerous cancers in the coming years. We are excited to support the development of NRM-823, which has demonstrated compelling preclinical efficacy and safety."
Industry Trends and Competitive Landscape
Normunity's progress aligns with broader trends in the TCE landscape. Other companies are also making significant investments in this area. For example, Ipsen committed up to $610 million last month to license a bispecific TCE from Biomunex Pharmaceuticals, which targets mucosal-associated invariant T cells (MAITs). Similarly, Candid Therapeutics entered the TCE market in September 2024 with $370 million in funding, initially focusing on autoimmune diseases but with plans to expand into cancer therapies.
Normunity is also collaborating with Alloy Therapeutics to develop precision immuno-oncology programs, leveraging Alloy’s antibody discovery capabilities to advance Normunity’s portfolio of therapies targeting immune suppression in tumors. This collaboration, announced in November 2022, further strengthens Normunity's position in the competitive landscape.
Rachel Humphrey, MD, founding Chief Executive Officer of Normunity, said, “Their support will enable Normunity to continue our strong momentum and advance our lead drug program NRM-823 into the clinic this year and explore other modalities with this exciting tumor specific target. With our proprietary target discovery process, we will continue to build our pipeline around novel targets, with new biological insights that could translate into life-changing medicines for cancer patients.”
