Kleo raises $21M series B to advance to clinic in 2020

Immuno-oncology company Kleo Pharmaceuticals Inc. (New Haven, Conn.) raised $21 million in an untranched series B round on Nov. 13 to propel its next-generation Antibody Recruiting Molecules (ARMs) into the clinic by 2020. The round was led by partner and new investor PeptiDream Inc. (Tokyo:4587) with participation from founding investor Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE:BHVN).

Kleo's ARMs consist of two active, target-binding heads connected by a linker. The first head binds to tumor antigens, while the other binds to an antibody at its Fc region or a site within the Fab region...