GammaDelta Therapeutics Raises Seed Funding from Abingworth

LONDON, September 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Abingworth, the international investment group dedicated to life sciences, today announced that it has seeded GammaDelta Therapeutics Ltd, a new immunotherapy company. GammaDelta Therapeutics also received support from three organisations, Cancer Research Technology (CRT), King's College London and the Francis Crick Institute. The company is being incubated at Abingworth's London office.

GammaDelta Therapeutics has been founded on pioneering research by Professor Adrian Hayday and Dr Oliver Nussbaumer at King's College London and the Francis Crick Institute, funded in part by Cancer Research UK, into gamma delta (γδ) T cells. These are a unique and conserved population of lymphocytes that contribute to many types of immune responses and immunopathologies. The new company is focused on exploiting this work to develop improved immunotherapies for cancer and potentially other diseases.

Peter Goodfellow, an advisor to Abingworth and formerly Senior Vice President for Discovery Research at GlaxoSmithKline, is Chairman of the board, which also includes, Prof. Hayday; Raj Mehta of CRT; Stephen Parker, Institutes Director; Mike Owen, formerly Senior Vice President for Biopharmaceuticals Research at GlaxoSmithKline; and Tim Haines, Managing Partner of Abingworth.

Raj Mehta, Founder and Interim CEO, said: "We are delighted to have attracted the support of Abingworth to the founding and development of GammaDelta Therapeutics and will use the proceeds to help us advance our innovative programmes into the clinic."

"GammaDelta's technology is differentiated from other approaches to immunotherapy being pursued and has the potential to make a significant impact on the treatment of cancer," said Abingworth's Tim Haines. "We look forward to working with the team to advance the discovery and development of novel therapeutic candidates based on this exciting approach."

About GammaDelta Therapeutics 

Founded in 2016, GammaDelta Therapeutics is developing the potential of gamma delta (γδ) cells to create improved immunotherapy of cancer and other serious diseases. The company plans to exploit unique properties of tissue resident γδ T cells for effective immunotherapy.

About Abingworth 

Abingworth is an international investment group dedicated to collaborating with life sciences entrepreneurs to develop their ideas into products that have a dramatic impact on health. With over $1 billion under management, Abingworth invests at all stages of development, from start-ups to publicly traded companies, and across all life science sectors.

Supporting its portfolio companies with a team of 27 at offices in London, Menlo Park (California) and Boston, Abingworth has invested in 142 life science companies, leading to 63 IPOs and 40 mergers and acquisitions. http://www.abingworth.com

SOURCE Abingworth