Lava raises €16M for gamma delta T cell platform

Lava Therapeutics B.V. ('s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands) raised €16 million ($18.8 million) on May 23 in a series B round led by Gilde Healthcare and Versant Ventures. Also participating were MRL Ventures Fund, Lupus Ventures and Biox Biosciences. Lupus and Biox invested in the company's €1 million series A round last year; the other firms are new investors.

Lava is developing bispecific gamma delta T cells to treat cancer. The company's V-gamma-9V-delta-2 T cells are reactive to small phosphorylated metabolite antigens expressed by tumor cells, which respond to signals from tumors leading to tumor infiltration, interferon (IFN) gamma secretion and tumor cell killing...