Press Release
Antiva Biosciences Closes $31 Million Series D Equity Financing
Financing Supported by Syndicate of Premier Life Science Investors Led by Adjuvant Capital and Including GV, HBM, Canaan, and Sofinnova, Among Others
Proceeds to Support Continued Development of ABI-2280 , Including Near-Term Advancement into Phase 1 Clinical Trial
South San Francisco, CA – November 2, 2021– Antiva Biosciences, a biopharmaceutical company developing novel, topical therapeutics for the treatment of pre-cancerous lesions caused by human papilloma virus (HPV) infection, today announced the closing of a $31 million Series D equity financing. The financing was supported by a syndicate of premier life science investors led by Adjuvant Capital, a leading global and women’s health venture firm, and joined by GV, formerly Google Ventures. Participants in the financing also included new investors HBM Healthcare Investments, Avestria Ventures, Gaingels and Mana Ventures, as well as existing investors including Canaan Partners, Sofinnova Ventures, Lumira Ventures, Brace Pharma Capital, Sirona Capital, Osage University Partners,
Proceeds from the financing will support the continued development of the company’s lead development candidate,
“This round of financing comes at an active and exciting time for Antiva, as we rapidly approach the initiation of our first-in-human Phase 1 clinical trial of
“As an investor targeting companies tackling high-burden public health challenges in historically overlooked market segments, we feel that Antiva fits our investment approach perfectly. By leveraging a novel technology to develop a topical treatment for HPV-related diseases that often progress into invasive cancers, Antiva is working to address a major global unmet clinical need with a goal of increasing treatment access to women throughout the world,” said Ms. Yip. “We are proud to support the company’s efforts in this area and look forward to the ongoing development of
In conjunction with the close of the Series D financing, Antiva and Adjuvant are establishing a global health committee designed to accelerate global development and commercialization of
About HPV-Related Diseases and Cervical Cancer
Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is so common that nearly all sexually active men and women are infected with the virus at some point in their lives. While many of these are transient infections which the body is capable of fighting off, the infections that persist are known to drive the formation of malignancies, including cervical, anal, vulvar, penile, and head and neck cancers.
The introduction of prophylactic vaccines for HPV was a major step forward in the fight against HPV-associated cancers by preventing infection by certain high-risk HPV subtypes. However, due to low adoption rates in the US, EU, and Japan, and limited access to the vaccines in developing countries, HPV infections and the disease states driven by such infections remain a major unmet clinical need.
Globally, cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women and as such represents a major public health problem. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 570,000 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer worldwide and approximately 311,000 women died from the disease in 2018.
About Antiva Biosciences
Antiva Biosciences, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel, topical therapeutics for the treatment of diseases caused by HPV infection. The company, based in South San Francisco, was founded in 2012 by Dr. Karl Hostetler of The University of California San Diego. The company’s lead drug candidate,
Contact
Gail Maderis
Antiva Biosciences, Inc.
650-822-1401
Tim Brons
Vida Strategic Partners (media)
646-319-8981
tbrons@vidasp.com