PALO ALTO, Calif. and SHENZHEN, China, April 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- LTZ Therapeutics – an immunotherapy-focused biotech company, co-founded by seasoned drug developers Robert Li Ph.D, Martin Treder Ph.D and Jianhui Zhou Ph.D – today announced it has raised $17 million in pre-Series A financing led by K2 Venture Partners, with participation from Qiming Venture Partners and Tigermed. The proceeds from the financing will be used to develop the company's three-pronged platform, establish its initial pipeline and to further build LTZ's operations team.
"We are excited and grateful for the support from our syndicate of investors in this pre-Series A round who recognize the transformative potential of our therapeutic platform," said Robert Li, co-founder and CEO of LTZ. "More fundamental knowledge of the underlying tumor biology and the tumor microenvironment is essential to develop therapies capable of overcoming resistance and relapse as well as boosting anti-tumor immunity. LTZ's strategy is built on closing this opportunity space using a three-pronged platform to reduce immunosuppression, re-program innate immunity and modulate adaptive immunity. In addition to our stellar group of investors, we are thrilled to welcome our new scientific advisory board members, further validating our approach to improve clinical outcomes in patients with cancer and other complex diseases."
Members of LTZ's newly formed scientific advisory board all share a common thread, previously holding key leadership roles at Genentech, including former VP of Protein Sciences Sarah Hymowitz Ph.D, prior VP of Development Sciences Greg Cosma Ph.D and former ED of Oncology Biomarkers Lukas Amler Ph.D.
"LTZ's novel approach holds great promise in the identification of targets with its three-pronged platform and the creation of a solid, diverse and sustainable portfolio," said Yunhai Wang, Partner at K2 Venture Partners. "Immunotherapy has become a game-changer in cancer treatment since the approval of immune checkpoint inhibitors. What this experienced, global team brings forward is strong leadership in the development of next-generation immunotherapy, from early R&D to clinical development. We look forward to partnering with LTZ to accelerate the progress of developing therapies that have the potential to positively impact the lives of patients."
"With a seasoned founding team possessing sharp insight into targeted biology and platform versatility, we are enthusiastic about the great potential of LTZ's transformative therapeutics platform for patients, breaking new ground in the biotech industry in both China and worldwide," said Kan Chen, Partner at Qiming Venture Partners.
"We are particularly excited about the founding team's depth of industry knowledge and diverse experience as well as the highly targeted and sustainable approach LTZ is taking to develop novel immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer and other diseases with unmet clinical need," said Dr. Tianrong Ji, Chief Investment Officer at Tigermed.
About LTZ
LTZ Therapeutics is an immunotherapy-focused biotech company pursuing the development of novel therapies to improve clinical outcomes in patients with cancer and other diseases with an unmet clinical need. With main operations in Palo Alto, California and Shenzhen China as well as a team out of Heidelberg Germany, LTZ is dedicated to developing immunotherapies capable of overcoming resistance and boosting anti-tumor immunity based on reverse translational science and emerging biology of tumor microenvironment.