Nodus Oncology raises £1.8m ($2.3m) to extend its seed funding

Existing investors KHAN Technology Transfer Fund I (KHAN-I) and Cumulus Oncology have followed their investment with a seed extension round of £1.8m

Edinburgh, UK – 11/01/24 – Nodus Oncology (“Nodus” or “the Company”), a biotech company focused on developing first- and best-in-class molecules that inhibit novel DNA damage response (DDR) targets, announces today that it has raised £1.8 million ($2.3 million) from existing investors KHAN Technology Transfer Fund I (“KHAN-I”) and Cumulus Oncology in an extended seed raise.

Ian Waddell, CEO of Nodus Oncology said: “This is an exciting time for Nodus Oncology; this additional investment will help us to fast-track the development of our current DDR inhibitor programmes and grow our pipeline with exciting new first-in-class assets.”

About Nodus Oncology

Nodus Oncology is a biotech company developing first- and best-in-class molecules focused on the DNA damage response (DDR) in patient sub-groups where molecular vulnerabilities exist. Founded by Cumulus Oncology, which contributes capital and oncology discovery as well as development expertise to the creation of new biotech companies, Nodus has received seed investment from both Cumulus Oncology and additional investors.

Further information available at: www.nodusoncology.com

About KHAN-I

KHAN Technology Transfer Fund I GmbH & Co KG (KHAN-I) is an early-stage life sciences venture fund with € 70 million under management. Their mission is to create value through cooperative drug development partnerships with academic innovators in Europe. KHAN-I focuses on first-in-class therapies for attractive markets with a high unmet medical need. The fund is managed by Khanu Management GmbH, an experienced team of professionals with proven track records in early-stage drug development and academic spin-offs as well as pharma licensing and partnering. KHAN-I received an investment from the European Investment Fund (EIF) with the support of InnovFin Equity, and with the financial backing of the European Union under Horizon 2020 Financial Instruments and the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) under the Investment Plan for Europe. KHAN-I is also supported by Austria Wirtschaftsservice GmbH (AWS with funds provided by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs and the Austrian Foundation for Research, Technology, and Development), Max Planck Foundation, and Thyssen’sche Handelsgesellschaft mbH. In addition, KHAN-I sustains a preferred partnership with the Max Planck Society (Max-Planck-Gesellschaft e.V.).

Further information available at: www.khanu.de

About Cumulus Oncology

From securing pre-seed investment in 2020, Cumulus has continued to develop a capitally efficient business model. The company sources novel oncology assets from academic institutes, commercial drug discovery groups and biopharmaceutical companies. The Cumulus scientific and commercial team members identify novel targets for drug discovery programmes which the company funds, supports, and collaborates on. Following rigorous due diligence and market assessment activities, negotiations on deal terms and in-depth feasibility on the investment case, selected assets are spun out into newly created companies. An early focus on molecularly selected patient sub-groups, is a key aspect of the business model. The company incorporates the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) platforms into its decision-making process to prioritise targets and assets.

Cumulus contributes both early-stage capital and oncology drug development expertise and manages each spinout company to achieve key development milestones and value inflections. The companies created by Cumulus represent valuable investment opportunities for VCs that focus on the biotech sector. These VCs are important partners for Cumulus when the spinout companies reach key inflection points. The founding team at Cumulus consists of successful life science entrepreneurs, scientists and a range of oncology drug development and pharma sector business professionals.

For more information, please visit: https://www.cumulusoncology.com/