Checkmate Pharmaceuticals Receives Series B Funding for CMP-001

The company will use $27 million for Phase Ib clinical trials of the immuno-oncology therapy.

Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Checkmate Pharmaceutical’s immuno-oncology drug CMP-001 is getting a secondary push thanks to $27 million in Series B funding. The funding was led by investment from F-Prime Capital Partners as well as former investors, Sofinnova and venBio Partners. 

CMP-001 is a CpG-A oligonucleotide packaged within a virus-like particle. The drug works by activating the immune system through a Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9), which controls the tumor by inducing both innate and adaptive anti-tumor immune responses. This therapy is the first CpG-A oligonucleotide in clinical development.

CMP-001 is in trials along with Merck & Co.’s Keytruda and is being tested in patients with primary refractory melanoma, who have either been unresponsive or to anti-PD-1 modes of treatment or whose conditions have progressed further. Checkmate believes that the combined therapies will be successful in trials. The company stated, “the combination therapy of CMP-001 and pembrolizumab has the potential to increase the proportion of cancer patients who respond to checkpoint inhibitor therapies and to increase the magnitude and duration of the anti-tumor responses, providing added clinical benefit.”

Ben Auspitz, Partner at F-Prime Capital Partners, commented on the investment, as well as the exciting promise of CMP-001. “Checkmate is making excellent progress in demonstrating that CMP-001 in combination with pembrolizumab is providing clinical benefit to PD-1-refractory patients with advanced melanoma,” he said. “We are pleased to be joining the Series A investors in supporting this innovative work to convert cold tumors to hot, advancing the development of combination therapies in oncology.”

Combinational cancer immunotherapies are generating much buzz in the industry, and CMP-001 seems especially poised to act on unresponsive tumors by activating cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). The trial will likely involve 100 people and should last approximately 18 month based on funding, as well as demands

This exciting development at Checkmate Pharmaceuticals comes on the heels of a significant leadership addition. CEO of Checkmate, Art Krieg, was proud to announce the appointment of Karen Brennan as Chief Operating Officer. Karen Brennan has over 30 years of experience under her belt and prior to joining the team as Chief Operating Officer; she worked as Vice President of Clinical and Development Operations at Forum Pharmaceuticals. Ms. Brennan worked at Millennium/Takeda and other like pharmaceuticals companies in varying degrees of increased leadership and responsibility. Krieg commented on the appointment, saying, “We are grateful for the continued strong support from our existing investors as we welcome the new support from F-Prime,” he noted. “In addition, we are delighted to benefit from Karen’s expertise and experience as we continue clinical development of CMP-001 in melanoma and expand into other indications.”

Checkmate Pharmaceuticals is a clinical stage biotech company with a focus on CpG oligonucleotides. The company ultimately has set out to activate the anti-tumor T cell response and override the ability of tumors to silence the immune response, using CpG DNA, and via “checkpoint inhibition.”

 

Cynthia A. Challener, Ph.D.

Dr. Challener is an established industry editor and technical writing expert in the areas of chemistry and pharmaceuticals. She writes for various corporations and associations, as well as marketing agencies and research organizations, including That’s Nice and Nice Insight.

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