VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Versant Ventures, a global healthcare investment firm, today announced another commitment to Canadian innovation with its investment in Turnstone Biologics, a biotechnology company focused on developing treatments for cancer. Turnstone marks the firm’s fifth investment in Canada over the last 2.5 years.
“Turnstone is the type of investment Versant seeks in first-in-class therapies based on breakthroughs from world-leading researchers in their field,” said Jerel Davis, Ph.D., Partner at Versant Ventures. “We believe Turnstone’s products possess critical attributes that previous oncolytic viral immunotherapies have been missing and we have been very impressed with the pre-clinical and clinical results that this team of academics and research institutes have generated.”
Turnstone’s platform and intellectual property are based on discoveries from leading researchers in the oncolytic viral immunotherapy field including John Bell, Ph.D., Brian Lichty, Ph.D., and David Stojdl, Ph.D. Four Canadian academic institutes, together with the Fight Against Cancer Innovation Trust (FACIT), have advanced Turnstone’s lead immunotherapy product into a Phase I/II clinical development study in advanced cancer patients.
Versant has established operations in key biotech innovation hubs on the U.S. West Coast and Northeast, Europe and, more recently, Canada. “We’ve used our expanded geographic presence to access investments in promising new fields such as regenerative medicine, gene editing, gene therapy, and immuno-oncology,” said Brad Bolzon, Ph.D., Managing Director at Versant Ventures. “Canada has become a productive source of this type of deal flow, and Turnstone is a great example of a high-quality investment opportunity that can be identified using this approach.”
Over the last two years, Versant has launched multiple enterprises throughout Canada including Inception Sciences research sites in Vancouver and Montreal, Blueline Bioscience, a biotechnology incubator in Toronto, and Northern Biologics, a Toronto-based antibody company. Versant continues to take a pan-Canadian outlook to identify breakthroughs from world-leading research centers, capitalize on available life sciences talent, and deploy its unique investment model.
About Versant Ventures
Versant Ventures is a leading healthcare investment firm committed to helping exceptional entrepreneurs build the next generation of great healthcare companies. The firm invests across the healthcare sector and at all stages of company development, with an emphasis on the discovery and development of novel therapeutics. With $1.9 billion under management and offices in North America and Europe, Versant has built a team with deep investment, operating, and scientific expertise that enables a hands-on approach to company building. Since the firm’s founding in 1999, more than 40 Versant companies have achieved successful acquisitions or IPOs. For more information, please visit www.versantventures.com.
