On March 3, 2021, Janux Therapeutics, a developer of safe, effective novel immunotherapies using its proprietary Tumor Activated T Cell Engager (TRACTr) technology, announced the close of a $56 million Series A financing. The financing was led by Avalon Ventures and joined by new investors OrbiMed and RA Capital Management, as well as existing investors Bregua and Correlation Ventures. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati advised Janux on patent matters related to the transaction.
T cell engagers are an emerging class of immunotherapies that bind to a tumor cell and recruit a patient’s T cells to eradicate tumor cells. Though T cell engagers have displayed substantial anti-tumor efficacy, existing therapies have been constrained by dose-limiting toxicities and poor pharmacokinetic profiles. Janux’s TRACTr technology is designed to overcome these limitations by integrating tumor-specific activation with crossover pharmacokinetics to produce best-in-class T cell engager therapeutics. The proceeds from the Series A financing will be used to advance Janux’s preclinical pipeline, including a TROP2-TRACTr and PSMA-TRACTr, with expected advancement of the company’s first candidate into the clinic in the first half of next year.
Wilson Sonsini has represented Janux in patent matters since the company’s inception. The team that advised Janux in the Series A financing includes Michael Hostetler, Laurie McNamara, and Alicia Umpierre.
For more information, please see Janux’s press release.