Anaveon is developing a selective interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2 receptor) agonist to fuel a patient’s immune system to respond to tumors. The naturally occurring IL-2 receptor stimulates a type of immune cell called a T-cell to attack tumors. Il-2 is already being used for the treatment of cancer. However, there are side effects and dose limiting toxicities associated with IL-2 therapy. Anaveon’s approach plans to overcome these challenges and the proceeds of the Series A financing  will now enable further development of its lead compound, as announced in a press release.

Anaveon was founded by Onur Boyman, Professor and Chair in the Department of Immunology at the University of Zurich (UZH), and Andreas Katopodis. Prior to this, Andreas Katopodis was Director of Autoimmunity, Transplantation and Inflammatory Disease at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research.