- Founded
- 2019
- CEO
- Carsten Linnemann
- Founders
- Dr Ton Schumacher
Dr Carsten Linnemann - % Shareholding
- 9%
- Stage
- Pre-clinical
- Number of employees
- 40+
- Raised (Syncona co-led) from a Series A financing in 2020
- $110m
Unless stated all financials at 31 December 2021
Neogene is developing a process to manufacture a wholly personalised autologous product employing engineered neoantigen-specific T cells.
Neogene, a Netherlands based company, was founded in 2018, based on the work of Dr Ton Schumacher, a leading cancer immunologist, and Dr Carsten Linnemann who was previously associate director of next generation T cell therapy at Kite Pharma. In 2020 Syncona co-led the $110m Series A financing round, committing $19m.
The company’s engineered T cells target mutated proteins, or neo-antigens, found in cancer cells as a consequence of cancer-associated DNA mutations. Neo-antigens render tumor cells vulnerable to detection by T cells. Neogene’s proprietary technology platform aims to identify TCR genes with specificity for neo-antigens from tumor biopsies. Neogene’s novel approach intends to deliver a tailored set of TCR genes for each individual patient, which will be engineered into patient-derived T cells directing them toward neo-antigens in tumor cells, with the goal of providing a fully personalized engineered T cell therapy for cancer.
Investment opportunity
- The company is developing an engineered T Cell Receptor (TCR) therapeutic approach for solid tumours based on a patient’s own neoantigens (personalised autologous cell therapy)
Unmet medical need
- Limited treatment options for patients with advanced solid tumours that have progressed through first line therapies.
- Cell therapies offer the potential for deep and durable responses in the populations as evidenced by
Iovance’s Tumor Inflitrating Lymphocyte therapy. We believe Neogene’s approach should result in a more efficacious product that can address a larger number of patients
Market opportunity
- The company has not yet announced its target indications within the solid tumour field
Key risks
- Complex manufacturing
- Complex early stage technology
- Highly competitive field
Syncona team
Martin Murphy
Magdalena Jonikas
Elisa Petris
Neogene Therapeutics leaders and founders
Dr Ton Schumacher
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