Silverback Therapeutics, a private biopharmaceutical company pioneering a new class of immune-modulating ImmunoTAC drug conjugates targeting previously inaccessible disease pathways, announced the close of an oversubscribed $78.5 million Series B financing round.

U.S. Venture Partners led the round, with participation from new investors including Nextech Invest Ltd., Hunt Investment Group, Pontifax Venture Capital, Colt Ventures LP and NS Investment. Existing investors participating in the financing include OrbiMed Advisors LLC, Bristol-Meyers Squibb and Alexandria Venture Investments, LLC.

Silverback will use the proceeds to support ongoing development of SBT6050, an anti-HER2 antibody conjugated to a potent TLR8 agonist for the treatment of HER2-expressing solid tumors, and to advance its pipeline of ImmunoTAC programs. The Company expects to file an Investigational New Drug Application ("IND") and initiate clinical investigation for SBT6050 this year.

"Our preclinical studies demonstrate that systemic delivery of our TLR8 agonist targeted to HER2-expressing tumors potently activates myeloid cells to kill cancer and reprograms the tumor microenvironment, resulting in durable, curative single-agent activity," said Peter Thompson, M.D., co-founder, Chairman, & CEO, Silverback Therapeutics. "We are pleased to attract a group of world-class investors who believe in our bold vision to develop potent immune-modulating agents that can be delivered systemically, but act locally at the site of disease. With these additional resources, we’re focused on advancing our lead program into the clinic this year and progressing our preclinical pipeline assets towards the clinic."

Along with the financing, Jonathan Root, M.D., general partner at USVP, and Thilo Schroeder, Ph.D., partner at Nextech Invest Ltd., have joined Silverback’s board of directors.

Dr. Root spent nine years in clinical practice before joining USVP in 1995 and becoming a general partner in 1997. Before USVP, he was on the faculty and clinical staff at The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center in New York City. Dr. Root is currently on the boards of several USVP portfolio companies and is also a former board member for the National Venture Capital Association. Dr. Root holds an A.B. in Economics from Dartmouth College, an M.D. from the University of Florida College of Medicine, and an M.B.A. from Columbia University.

Dr. Schroeder joined Nextech as a partner in 2012, helping grow and shape the organization as a leading oncology-focused venture firm. He began his biotech career at the pioneering cancer immunology company Micromet (acquired by Amgen) while studying at Ecole Supérieure de Biotechnologie de Strasbourg. Dr. Schroeder is currently on the boards of several private biotechnology companies. He obtained his Ph.D., focused on protein engineering in the development of Designed Ankyrin Repeat Proteins (DARPins), from the University of Zurich.

"The Silverback team is building a platform technology capable of unlocking potent immuno-modulatory pathways using an established antibody-guided approach for targeting disease sites," said Jonathan Root, M.D., general partner, USVP. "I look forward to supporting the company’s evolution as it moves these compelling therapies into the clinic, starting with SBT6050."

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