• $12 million raised in Series A from Indian venture firms.
• Enhancing immune system to treat various cancers and autoimmune disorders.
• AVA-NP-695, an ENPP1 inhibitor with strong anti-tumor efficacy.

Avammune Therapeutics, along with its subsidiary Avammune Lifesciences, has successfully raised $12 million in Series A funding from Indian venture capital firms. The funding round was co-led by Capital 2B, Shastra VC, and Kotak Lifesciences Fund I, with contributions from IvyCap Ventures and existing investor 1Crowd.

Founded in Philadelphia but originally from India, Avammune specializes in the creation of therapies that strengthen the immune system to treat different cancers and autoimmune diseases. It was founded in 2020 as a spin-off unit of Bangalore-based Aten Porus Lifesciences and is led by co-founders CEO Arun B. Papaiah, Srinivasan Namala, and Chief Scientific Officer Aditya Kulkarni.

Avammune is seeking to cure cancers like osteosarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma, breast cancer, and GI cancers by using small molecules to manipulate natural immunity. Its most advanced product candidate is AVA-NP-695, an ENPP1 inhibitor that has shown high anti-tumor activity in preclinical models as well as in vet patients under compassionate use.

One of the main areas of interest to Avammune is the STING pathway, a critical component of the innate immune response. Namala, a director of Avammune, said that the STING pathway has been of interest due to its potential to not just kill cancer directly but also be used to make other immuno-oncology treatments, including checkpoint inhibitors, more effective.

The additional funding will be used to move the drug pipeline forward, especially in the development of orally bioavailable small molecules and moving AVA-NP-695 into clinical trials.