Jounce Therapeutics Secures $56 Million in Oversubscribed Series B Financing

Jounce Therapeutics Secures $56 Million in Oversubscribed Series B Financing

Proceeds Will Support Advancement of Multiple Monoclonal Antibody Cancer Immunotherapy Programs into Preclinical and Clinical Testing and Accelerate Discovery Beyond T Cell Focused Mechanisms

April 23, 2015 07:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jounce Therapeutics, Inc., a company focused on the discovery and development of novel cancer immunotherapies coupled to patient selection strategies, today announced the successful completion of a $56 million oversubscribed Series B financing. Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance Jounce's pipeline of cancer immunotherapy programs, including moving its lead program directed at Inducible T cell Co-stimulator (ICOS) into clinical testing, as well as advancing a second program through IND-enabling studies. In addition, the investment will support expanded discovery of novel treatments aimed at tumors that may be less likely to respond to T cell checkpoint monotherapy, including therapies that target innate immune and stromal cells.

"We are incredibly pleased to have the support of this group of investors and are in a strong position to advance multiple programs toward human clinical proof of concept studies, including our ICOS agonist monoclonal antibody," said Richard Murray Ph.D., chief executive officer of Jounce. "Each of these programs leverages Jounce's translational science platform, which is designed to match the most appropriate patients with new immunotherapies. We believe this approach will be very beneficial in guiding early development and, ultimately, delivering highly effective immunotherapies with durable responses to patients in need of better treatment options."

Participation in the round included Wellington Management Company, Redmile Group, Nextech Invest, Pharmstandard International, S.A., Cormorant Asset Management, Omega Funds, Casdin Capital, Foresite Capital Management and an undisclosed blue chip public investment fund.

"Having been an investor in the earliest cancer immunotherapy companies, Redmile has seen the evolution of the space and the important impact these treatments are having for patients," said Michael Lee, co-founding partner of Redmile Group. "We believe that Jounce has built a differentiated approach rooted in strong discovery and translational science capabilities that position it to bring the next wave of innovation to the field."

"We are delighted to welcome this distinguished group of investors to support Jounce as it advances its science and programs," said Cary Pfeffer, M.D., partner at Third Rock Ventures and chairman of Jounce's board of directors. "Jounce has made tremendous progress since launching two years ago, including advancing its innovative translational science approach, patient selection strategies and the discovery of novel therapies. With its founders' and senior management team's experience in immunotherapy Jounce is well positioned to be a leader in the field."

About Jounce Therapeutics

Jounce Therapeutics is dedicated to transforming the treatment of cancer through discovering and developing novel cancer immunotherapies with the potential to drive significantly more durable responses to treatment, extending and improving patients' quality of life. Jounce utilizes translational science insights to match the right targets to well defined patient populations in order to achieve a higher probability of success and rapid proof-of-concept. The company is pursuing programs against multiple targets in the T cell checkpoint area, as well as programs beyond T cell checkpoints monotherapies, where current immunotherapies may be less likely to be effective. Founded by world leaders in tumor immunology, cancer biology and clinical and translational medicine, Jounce Therapeutics was launched in 2013 with initial funding from leading life sciences investor, Third Rock Ventures. For more information, please visit www.jouncetx.com.

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