Zumutor Biologics, a biotech business, has raised $7.3 million in a Pre-Series B fundraising round with participation from new investors Premji Invest, Ashish Kacholia, and Raj Dandu Family Office in addition to current investors Accel and Bharat Innovation Fund.
The additional funds will be utilized to support Phase 1B expansion cohorts, start international Phase 2 trials, including in India, and finish the existing US FDA Phase 1 clinical trial of its main therapeutic candidate ZM008.
Zumutor was founded by Kavitha Iyer Rodrigues with the goal of creating immuno-oncology treatments that employ the body’s natural defenses against cancer. In order to improve the immune system’s capacity to identify and eliminate cancer cells, its flagship initiative, ZM008, is a first-in-class NK (natural killer) cell checkpoint therapy.
The company says that ongoing Phase 1 trials in a few difficult-to-treat tumor types have shown promising early clinical signs, boosting confidence in its immunotherapy technology.
Zumutor claims that as the business grows its clinical research program internationally, the funding will also assist combination studies of ZM008 across several cancer indications.
The Bengaluru-based startup is part of a growing group of Indian biotech companies creating innovative cancer treatments for international markets, and it works throughout India and the US.
