Surge Therapeutics, a Cambridge, MA-based biotech company advancing the delivery of immunotherapy during cancer surgery, raised $32M in Series B funding.
The round was led by Bioluminescence Ventures, with participation from KdT Ventures, Piedmont Capital, and existing investors 8VC, Alumni Ventures, Camford Capital, Cancer Research Institute, Intuitive Ventures, Khosla Ventures, and Pitango HealthTech. In connection with the financing, Kouki Harasaki, Ph.D., Managing Partner at Bioluminescence Ventures, will join Surge’s Board of Directors.
The funding will be used to further the development of the SURGE™ intraoperative immunotherapy approach, expand the team, and advance multiple clinical trials for its injectable biodegradable hydrogel, which may be administered during any surgical oncology procedure.
Led by Michael Goldberg, Ph.D., CEO and Founder, Surge Therapeutics (The Intraoperative Immunotherapy Company™) seeks to improve cancer patient survival by taking into account how, when, and where cancer immunotherapy is deployed. Reprogramming the body’s response to surgery from immunosuppressive to immunostimulatory may trigger the patient’s immune system to destroy both local and distal residual cancer cells, reducing recurrence and improving survival. In multiple aggressive murine models of metastasizing cancer, intraoperative immunotherapy vastly improved survival benefit relative to traditional routes of administration, whether systemic or local. Confirmation in patients could represent a major advancement in cancer care. The SURGERx™ platform is designed to improve the efficacy and safety of immunotherapy treatment.
The company recently dosed the first two patients in a Phase 1/2a trial for its lead intraoperative immunotherapy candidate, STM-416, in patients with recurrent bladder cancer to improve post-resection outcomes. Its intraoperative approach enables extended, localized release of immunotherapy at the site of surgical tumor resection. This intervention may prevent tumor relapse and induce systemic antitumor immunity, potentially eliminating existing micrometastases.
