Neon Therapeutics secures $55m to develop neoantigen-based cancer immunotherapies

Third Rock Ventures led the funding round, which also included financing from Clal Biotechnology Industries and Access Industries.

Neon Therapeutics was founded by experts in neoantigen biology, tumor immunology, vaccinology and personalized therapeutics.

The company’s lead program, NEO-PV-01, is a personalized neoantigen vaccine that builds upon research and development at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. It is currently in several clinical trials.

Neon will also develop personalized T cell therapies that use the strengths of its platforms in epitope prediction and immune monitoring.

Neon Therapeutics interim CEO Cary Pfeffer said: "We have a completely new understanding of the immune system’s role in unlocking powerful mechanisms to induce immune attack of tumors, representing an enormous opportunity for precision therapies for cancer patients.

"These insights enable Neon Therapeutics to develop therapies that are complementary to current immunomodulatory therapies and may significantly enhance the specificity and potency of existing approaches."

A neoantigen-based product engine will enable Neon to develop additional treatment modalities including next-generation vaccines and T cell therapies targeting personalized and shared neoantigens.