September 01, 2023
Fund Update:
1. The Fund has recently placed its second investment, A$2.25M via a SAFE note into Aculeus Therapeutics Pty Ltd. Details on the science behind Aculeus are in the investment snapshot below.
2. The SAFE note is set to convert into equity at a 20% discount to the share price of the next qualified financing (a raise of at least another $4.5M from outside investors as described below).
3. Other investors in Aculeus include 27 individual investors; most of whom were investors in the SYNthesis Group and have supported Aculeus from incorporation. Notably, the assets in Aculeus have had an aggregate sum of >A$45M already invested through the Cancer CRC, SYNthesis Research and the previous entity that held the newly acquired phase 2 asset.
4. An innate immunity oncology focused company, Aculeus has a pipeline targeting 3 immunological pathways proven to trigger the body’s immune response to cancer and other antigens: TLR-9, STING, and ENPP-1. Aculeus has recently acquired an asset in phase 2, Pixatimod (TLR-9 agonist), and is working towards the imminent start of clinical studies for its STING agonist lead candidate in early 2024.