Immatics

Immatics was established on the basis of a proprietary technology to identify highly specific peptide antigens expressed exclusively on the surface of primary human tumour cells but not on any other tissues in the human body. The idea was to harness the power of the T-cells at the centre of the body’s immune response to tackle cancerous tumours. Venture capital backing helped the start-up to spin out of the University of Tübingen in Germany and fund its research into identifying true targets for immunotherapies, as well as the development of T-cell receptor-based treatments that attack and kill cancer cells.

In 2015, Immatics formed a joint venture with MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston to develop adoptive cell therapies, and subsequently agreed a R&D partnership with US group Amgen to develop new T-cell immunotherapies. Meanwhile the company has closed seven large partnerships with leading players in oncology including Roche, Genmab, GSK and BMS. The three collaborations with BMS alone are accounting for more than $4.2 billion in outstanding milestones plus up to double-digit percent royalties. The company listed on the Nasdaq in 2020 via a SPAC merger at a market capitalisation of $602 million, which included a $104 million investment from existing venture capital backers and shareholders to continue Immatics R&D¹.