Bellicum raises $10 million in series B

Bellicum Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Houston, Texas) raised $10 million in the first tranche of a planned $20 million series B round. Undisclosed existing investors participated along with new investors, including AVG Ventures and Remeditex Ventures. The company said the second $10 million tranche will be triggered by the start of the next phase of clinical trials for its lead products, CaspaCIDe DLI and BPX-101, both of which are expected in 3Q12.

BPX-101 is a genetically-modified autologous dendritic cell-based cancer vaccine slated to start Phase II testing to treat metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), while CaspaCIDe DLI, a donor lymphocyte infusion administered following a hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), is slated to start Phase I/II testing to treat graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) in HSCT patients. Both products use AP1903, a homodimerizing compound that activates genetically engineered receptors of cell therapies to activate the caspase pathway and trigger apoptosis. Bellicum has non-exclusive rights to AP1903 for use in cancer vaccines from Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA) under an amended 2006 deal. ...