Over €14 M to Advance Development of Tacalyx’s Cancer Therapeutics Targeting TACAs

Tacalyx, a privately held biotech company focused on developing novel anti-TACA (Tumor Associated Carbohydrate Antigens) cancer therapies, announces the extension of its seed financing to over €14 M.

This extension round was led by new investor Thuja Capital, and as part of the financing, Evan Castiglia, Partner at Thuja Capital, will join the Board of Directors.

Thuja joins the existing investors Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund (BIVF), Kurma Partners, High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), coparion, IdInvest/Eurazeo, Creathor Ventures and the Max-Planck-Society (MPG).

Tacalyx is a pioneer in the development of novel antibody-based therapeutics targeting TACAs, glycan structures that are often found on cancer cells but are absent from differentiated tissues under normal physiologic conditions. Thus, anti‑TACA antibodies allow for specific targeting of cancer cells and can be further developed into various treatment modalities, including antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) or T cell engagers (TCEs).

With its unique expertise in glycan biology and manipulation, Tacalyx has established a pipeline of several first-in-class assets targeting different TACAs across multiple solid tumor indications. With the additional funds, Tacalyx will develop two of its novel antibodies into late preclinical stage as well as advance several earlier stage programs.

“We see great potential with the expertise and technology of Tacalyx in the emerging field of glycan biology and believe this technology platform can create novel treatment options for patients with excellent specificity across multiple solid tumor indications. We are excited to support the team in the development of this promising approach,” – said Evan Castiglia, Partner at Thuja Capital.

Tacalyx has established a unique chemical platform that enables the company to reliably generate and validate bona fide antibodies against TACAs using tailored synthesized antigens in combination with sophisticated antibody generation technologies. To expand the development pipeline, Tacalyx has also established multiple academic collaborations to support the discovery of new TACAs. With its platform, Tacalyx has developed a pipeline of seven projects targeting both known and novel TACAs with high relevance for human malignancies.

“We are very happy that we have successfully increased our seed funding to a total of over €14 M. With these added funds, we will be able to make significant progress on two of our assets to clinical candidate stage, and advance others so they are ready for preclinical development.

Based on the progress we have made, we are well positioned to further develop our pipeline candidates on our own as well as to explore partnership options to further elevate our cancer research.

Our technology holds the promise of novel and more effective treatment options for cancers that cannot be treated otherwise, and we look forward to taking the next steps with the support of our expanded investor base,” – commented Dr. Peter Sondermann, CEO and Co-Founder of Tacalyx.

About Tacalyx

Tacalyx is a privately held biotech company focused on the discovery and development of Tumor Associated Carbohydrate Antigen (TACA) antibodies to treat cancer. TACAs are formed during malignant transformation in a microevolutionary process. The expression of TACAs is elevated in many cancer cell types which makes them attractive potential targets for cancer treatment by harnessing and directing the natural immune response. Tacalyx is developing its proprietary technology platform to exploit TACAs as novel targets for antibody-based therapies, including antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and other modalities, and has established a proprietary pipeline with seven independent projects.

Tacalyx was founded in 2019 as a spin-out of the Max-Planck-Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (MPICI) in Potsdam, Germany, based on work of Prof. Dr. Peter Seeberger and Dr. Oren Moscovitz. Tacalyx is headquartered in Berlin, Germany and is backed by leading European life sciences and technology investors Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund (BIVF), Kurma Partners, High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), coparion, Eurazeo/Idinvest Partners, Creathor Ventures, and Thuja Capital.

For more information, please visit the Tacalyx website.

About Thuja Capital

Thuja Capital Management (Thuja Capital) manages several venture capital funds aimed at building and scaling companies in the fields of (bio)pharmaceuticals, medtech and digital health. In addition to generating a financial return for its investors, Thuja’s investments aim to positively impact the health and well-being of patients. Thuja serves physicians and patients worldwide by providing capital and support to daring entrepreneurs with ground-breaking product concepts.

For more information, please visit Thuja Capital website.