Imperial Innovations leads £15.25M third funding round of Circassia

Imperial Innovations Group plc, the quoted technology transfer arm of Imperial College London has led a £15.25 million third round funding in Circassia Ltd, an Imperial spin-out, which is developing allergy vaccines.

Other shareholders, including Invesco Perpetual and Lansdowne Partners, followed on in a round that was significantly oversubscribed. This is the third time that Imperial Innovations has now led the funding for Circassia, one of the most advanced biotechs in its portfolio.

Last month Circassia announced results of the Phase IIb trials of its ToleroMune vaccine against cat allergy, showing the product dramatically reduced allergy symptom levels.  ToleroMune, which is based on a synthetic peptide, was well-tolerated, with a safety profile similar to placebo. This contrasts with many traditional immunotherapies based on whole allergens, which are associated with a range of local tolerability issues.

The new funding will allow Circassia to carry out a further Phase II test of a new formulation of the vaccine that is stable at ambient temperatures, and then progress the product to Phase III.

The money will also support Phase II studies of TolerMune-based vaccines in other allergens, including ragweed, house dust mite and grass.

Following this round, Imperial Innovations will own 15.3 per cent of Circassia, having invested a total of £7.5 million.