Getting into the I-O mix

After years of sitting on the sidelines, Sofinnova Partners is entering immuno-oncology by backing iOmx Therapeutics AG's €40 million ($44.6 million) series A round. Sofinnova liked that the biotech is pursuing novel checkpoint targets found on tumors rather than immune cells, with preclinical evidence of efficacy that looks at least as good as the PD-1 inhibitors.

"For some time now we've discussed whether we missed the train in immuno-oncology. We didn't feel we saw any deals that stuck out of the ordinary, as many of the approaches centered on the PD-1/PD-L1 axis," said Sofinnova's Henrijette Richter, who is iOmx's chairman. "What captured us is that iOmx isn't doing that at all. They're looking at the cancer cell instead of the T cell. In our diligence we didn't find any other companies doing this."...