Topas to enter clinic in 2018

Timm Jessen, CEO of Topas Therapeutics, talks to Scrip's Lucie Ellis about his journey through the pharma and biotech sector and what lies ahead for his current company. Jessen was previously chief scientific officer at Evotec before founding Topas in 2013. The Hamburg, Germany-based biotech received EUR 4 million in financing from the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund (BIVF) in November this year, bringing its total funding to EUR 18 million. The cash will be used to accelerate the preparation and execution of clinical trials for autoimmune programs derived from its platform. Epidarex Capital (as lead investor), Gimv, EMBL Ventures and Evotec previously invested EUR 14 million in the company via the launch of a series A financing round in 2016. Topas's technology platform induces antigen-specific immune tolerance by harnessing the liver’s natural immunology capabilities. The company expects to have its first compound in the clinic by the end of 2018.