TAMPA, Fla. – (May 2, 2018) – Morphogenesis, Inc., a Tampa, FL-based immunotherapy company closed a $16 million Series A investment round led by Dr. Kiran Patel and KP Biotech Group, a company managed by Dr. Kiran Patel. With the completion of the Series A Round, Dr. Kiran Patel was elected Chairman of the Board of Morphogenesis.
Newly elected Chairman Dr. Patel reacted to the closing by saying, “It’s extremely rewarding to reach this point with the Morphogenesis team who have been pursuing such formidable endeavors in biotechnology that will put Tampa on the map. Interest in this investment was strong but we had to cap at $16M. I have been investing in the Company for over five years now with a strong belief in the work Pat and Mike have undertaken. The successful outcomes from their companion animal and mouse studies have resulted in a green light by the FDA to move into Phase 1b of human clinical trials.”
Morphogenesis is a cell and gene therapy company that produces “off-the-shelf” cancer therapies that mark tumor cells for destruction by the immune system. One of the hallmarks of this technology is that it focuses the immune response specifically to tumor cells. Since healthy cells are ignored in the process, and adverse effects are minimized with these therapies. Initially focused on melanoma, the therapies show promise against both liquid and solid tumors of varying types, as both a monotherapy or in combination with other immunotherapies, including checkpoint inhibitors. The Company intends to use the proceeds to fund its Phase 1b human clinical trial at Tampa’s Moffitt Cancer Center and to develop its executive management team.
Year on year, Morphogenesis continues to reach major milestones towards their goal of human cancer treatments. Last year, Morphogenesis augmented its portfolio with three US patent awards. The Company also made applications for patent protection in Europe, Japan, Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong. These patents are an important component of Morphogenesis’ exclusive intellectual property portfolio that includes more than 25 issued patents and patent applications.
Morphogenesis CEO Patricia Lawman commented on the closing, “We’ve been concentrating on immunotherapies since 2005 and through so many successful outcomes with naturally-occurring cancers in companion animals and horses, we’ve learned a great deal about the potential in human treatment and look forward to getting our trials started.”
Skyway Capital Markets, LLC acted as Placement Agent for the offering.
About Morphogenesis, Inc. – Morphogenesis, located in Tampa, FL, is developing targeted immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer. The Company’s patented immunotherapy is based on a single bacterial gene that when expressed on the surface of a patient’s tumor cells, educates the immune system to target the patient’s unique set of tumor antigens (neoantigens) without toxic-effects. Morphogenesis filed and was approved for an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to test its vaccine for intratumoral injection of melanoma at Moffitt Cancer Center. For more information visit www.morphogenesis-inc.com.