Anaveon AG
Founded in 2017 by leading experts in the field of immunotherapy, Anaveon is a biopharmaceutical company that specializes in the development of treatments for diseases with immune system dysfunction. We are a group of motivated immunologists committed to delivering the power of cytokines to patients. Our goal is to harness the power of engineered cytokines and develop novel treatments for diseases with high unmet need. Anaveon is a clinical stage company committed to transforming immunological insights into life-saving therapies. With a vision to use our expertise in cutting-edge immunology to design and develop treatments that benefit patients and society, the team has the skills to make it happen and is ready to see the impact of ANV419 in patients.
Company details
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- Business Type:
- Manufacturer
- Industry Type:
- Pharmaceuticals
- Market Focus:
- Nationally (across the country)
- Year Founded:
- 2017
Our Mission
To transform cytokines into life-saving treatments
Our Vision
To use our expertise in cutting-edge immunology to design and develop patient treatments that benefit society
Word from the CEO
Our lead project is a next generation IL-2 therapeutic with exquisite selectivity for effector cell proliferation and excellent safety. The expected wide therapeutic window should not only allow combination therapy with established and novel modes of action, but possibly expand the therapeutic potential to less immunogenic tumors that are currently not responsive to immunotherapy.
Our pipeline includes additional programs that leverage targeted cytokines for a range of immune-mediated diseases.
We are at an exciting phase of our journey and we welcome your interest in our science, development and clinical activities.
Our Journey
Discover Our Journey
Founded in 2017, Anaveon is on an exciting and fast-paced journey: the company is now on its way to taking a next-generation interleukin-2 (IL-2) immunotherapy into human trials, with 36 million CHF in funding, extensive in-house laboratory capabilities and a team of experts in both drug discovery and development.
Immunology Origins
Anaveon co-founder and CEO Andreas Katopodis has spent more than 25 years in the pharmaceutical industry, including 21 years as Director in the Autoimmunity, Transplantation & Inflammation group at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research.
During his time there, Andreas collaborated with Onur Boyman, a professor at the University of Zurich, whose research was focused on cytokines, specifically IL-2. Together, they developed antibodies that target specifically IL-2 on immune effector cells, developing them into potential cancer treatments.
Taking the Next Step: Founding Anaveon®
The team at Anaveon believed in the potential of the compounds they had developed and the project was licensed from Novartis and the University of Zurich.
They co-founded Anaveon in 2017 in Switzerland, with a focus on taking the drug into clinical trials.
Securing Funding to Develop a Cancer Treatment
With support from the Novartis Venture Fund, Anaveon secured funding rapidly after the foundation of the Company, receiving 1 million CHF from the University of Zurich Life Sciences fund, enabling the team to start the manufacturing process. BaseLaunch followed with a non-dilutive grant.
In 2019, Anaveon concluded a Series A financing round and raised 35 million CHF, with Syncona as the lead investor and the Novartis Venture Fund also contributing. With a state-of-the-art laboratory and a dedicated team of experts, and in June 2021 Anaveon successfully dosed the first patient in a Phase 1 / 2 open label study of ANV419.
Anaveon’s pipeline includes programs that leverage targeted cytokines for a range of immune-mediated diseases.