Imcyse secures total of 35 million euros in financing round and grants

Belgian immunotherapies developer Imcyse today announces that it has raised 35 million euros ($39.5 million) in a Series B financing round and through other channels. Imcyse is a spin-off from Belgium’s Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL).

The financing round of 28 million euros in equity was led by LSP together with Belgian investors including Epimède, the Société Régionale d'Investissement de Wallonie (SRIW), and the Société Fédérale de Participations et d'Investissement (SFPI). Existing shareholders (Biogenosis, Noshaq, KU Leuven) also participated in the round.

Further to this, Imcyse also received a grant worth 4.6 million euros from the Walloon region (DGO6) and a bank loan of 2 million euros from Belfius.

These proceeds will be used to advance Phase II clinical development of Imcyse’s Imotopes technology in type 1 diabetes, to initiate clinical trials in multiple sclerosis and other auto-immune diseases and to expand the technology to further indications.

At the end of 2017, Imcyse launched a double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-escalation clinical study in patients with recent onset insulin-dependent type 1 diabetes in seven European countries (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Lithuania, Sweden and the UK). The trial investigates the safety, immune responses and efficacy of Imcyse’s Imotopes technology, with results expected end of summer 2019.

“We are happy to have raised this substantial amount of private and public financing for our future research and clinical developments,” said Pierre Vandepapelière, chief executive and chief medical officer of Imcyse. “The success of this round is a further validation of the technology platform, following already established collaborations with major pharma companies. We are convinced that Imcyse’s technology can bring great hope for patients with severe diseases such as type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and many orphan indications. It is also a clear recognition for Imcyse’s team, who have worked hard to improve the platform and the company and to generate excellent results,” he added.