Kiran-Mazumdar-Shaw Startup Immuneel Therapeutics raises Rs 100 Cr

Immuneel Therapeutics, a biotech startup focused on cancer, has raised $12 million, or Rs 100 crore, in an expansion of its Series A funding round from Taiba Middle East FZ LLC. Since its founding in 2018, the Bengaluru-based startup has raised capital three times.

According to Immuneel Therapeutic’s regulatory filing, which can be viewed through the Registrar of Companies, the board approved a special resolution to issue 8,164 Series A1 CCPS and 10 equity shares at a price of Rs. 1,22,330 apiece in order to raise Rs. 100 crore, or $12 million.

The documents also stated that the company will use these investments for growth and expansion in accordance with board decisions.

Related: Healthtech Firm HealthPresso to Raise $1 Million in Pre-Series A Funding Round

TheKredible estimates that the company is worth approximately Rs 587 crore, or $71 million (post-allotment). Taiba Middle East FZ now owns a 17% share in Immuneel Therapeutics after the recent proceeds. It looks like there is still money being raised in this round.

With the addition of its $15 million (around Rs 140 Cr) Series A funding led by Eight Roads Ventures, True North, and F-Prime Capital in 2022, the company has raised almost $40 million to date.

Immuneel Therapeutics, an Indian clinical-stage firm, was founded by biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, oncologist and Pulitzer Prize winner Siddhartha Mukherjee, and Kush Parwar. The company’s goal is to produce gene and cell therapies for cancer patients.

The goal of Immuneel Therapeutics is to create and provide novel, reasonably priced, and easily accessible cancer immunotherapy products. The business is well-known for its work in chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy, a form of treatment in which immune system cells known as T cells are engineered in a lab to target cancer cells in patients.

• CAR-T Therapy: CAR-T treatments specifically for Indian patients are being developed by Immuneel Therapeutics. With the use of CAR-T treatment, T cells are genetically altered to express a receptor unique to cancer cells, giving them the ability to identify and eliminate malignant cells.
• Research and Development: The business makes significant investments in R&D to develop and enhance immunotherapy therapies. This involves working together with top research institutes and utilizing cutting-edge technology to improve the efficacy and safety of treatments.
• Clinical Trials: Immuneel is continuously undertaking clinical trials to confirm the efficacy and safety of its treatments. For regulatory clearances and the ultimate commercialization of their products, these studies are essential.
• Collaborations and Partnerships: The company works with a range of partners, such as hospitals, universities, and other biotech companies, to further study and commercialize successful medicines.

Immuneel Therapeutics, a six-year-old comapny, stayed in the pre-revenue stage of operations in FY23, but it has not yet submitted its annual results for FY24. Its losses for the fiscal year that ended in March 2023 totalled Rs 39 crore.

“Whether it is public or private, or in partnership, we need scale,” Shaw said in 2022. Going back at this statement, one thing is clear, for Immuneel Therapeutics to make Cancer Therapy affordable to common Indian masses, they need scale.

This Rs 100 Crore funding round is just another step in the right direction for the startup to bring scale of production and achieve their goal of reduction in therapy costs.