Heritas Capital invests in Tessa Therapeutics, a leading biopharmaceutical company focusing on T Cell Therapy
Heritas Capital Management is pleased to complete its investment in Tessa Therapeutics (“Tessa”), an international clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focusing on T cell therapy for solid tumours. Tessa’s Virus-Specific T cell (“VST”) technology has demonstrated compelling results in the treatment of solid tumours. The company is currently conducting a multi-center Phase III trial targeting nasopharyngeal cancer and a Phase I trial targeting cervical cancer and oropharyngeal cancer.
Virus-Specific T cells are produced through a selective expansion process that gives them the ability to infiltrate and survive in solid tumours long enough to attack and destroy them from within, a key differentiator to other cell therapies. Tessa’s VSTs migrate to the tumour site and kill cancer cells with precision leaving healthy cells unharmed, leading to high treatment efficacy and safety. Tessa will use the proceeds from this funding round to further advance its clinical pipeline and to bring new therapies, based on the company’s VST platform, into clinical trials.
“The investment in Tessa is in line with Heritas’ focus on personalized and precision medicine as we continue to support healthcare and biomedical sciences innovations to improve treatment outcomes and address unmet needs for patients especially in Asia Pacific,” said Mr. Chik Wai Chiew, CEO and Executive Director of Heritas. “We are pleased to back Tessa in this US$80 million financing round alongside other investors including Temasek, EDBI, Karst Peak Capital and Heliconia to develop next generation cellular therapies for the benefit of cancer patients.”
Heritas is a Capital Markets Services (“CMS”) licensed A/I (Accredited / Institutional) fund management company with assets under management of over S$250 million. Heritas manages private equity and venture capital funds focused on healthcare, education and technology sectors across the Asia-Pacific region. The investment in Tessa has been made through Heritas-managed private equity fund, Heritas Helios Investments II.