US-based biotechnology company SURGE Therapeutics has raised $32m in Series B financing to advance its intraoperative immunotherapy to enhance cancer patient survival results after surgery.
The Series B round was led by Bioluminescence Ventures, with participation from KdT Ventures and Piedmont Capital. Existing investors including 8VC, Alumni Ventures, Cancer Research Institute, Camford Capital, Khosla Ventures, Intuitive Ventures, and Pitango HealthTech also took part.
Bioluminescence Ventures managing partner Kouki Harasaki said: “SURGE has a unique first-mover advantage in the intraoperative immunotherapy space to potentially improve patient outcomes and become the standard of care as a seamless complement to surgery.”
SURGE Therapeutics will use the Series B funds to progress various clinical trials for its injectable biodegradable hydrogel, which may be given during any surgical cancer operation.
The proceeds will also be used by the Cambridge-based biotechnology company to further develop the intraoperative immunotherapy method and team expansion.
In October 2022, the company raised $26m in its Series A round, which was led by Camford Capital.
Recently, SURGE Therapeutics dosed the first two patients in a Phase 1/2a trial for its primary intraoperative immunotherapy candidate, STM-416, in patients having recurrent bladder cancer with an intent to improve post-resection outcomes.
The company’s intraoperative method is aimed at providing prolonged, localised immunotherapy release at the site of surgical tumour resection. The intervention can also remove any micrometastases that already exist by inducing systemic antitumor immunity and preventing tumour relapse.
SURGE Therapeutics CEO and founder Michael Goldberg said: “The capital that we have raised to date will allow SURGE to generate proof-of-concept event-free survival data with our lead program and advance our second and third programs through Phase 1.
“Intraoperative immunotherapy is a platform approach that can potentially confer clinical benefit across multiple cancer types, using different molecules.
“Surgery is the standard of care for most patients with solid tumours, and it is common for a small number of cancer cells to remain behind. Our mission is to ensure that nobody grieves the loss of a loved one due to preventable post-surgical cancer recurrence.”
