ROCHESTER, Minn., May 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Vyriad, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing oncolytic virus therapies to treat a wide range of cancers, today announced $29.5M in new funding led by Mr. Harry Stine of Stine Seed Farms, Inc. with participation from existing investors. Stine Seed Farms joins Mayo Clinic, Mirae Asset, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., Southeast Minnesota Capital Fund (SMCF), and several high-net-worth individuals on the Vyriad investment roster. This round adds to a prior closing for Vyriad’s Series B round and brings total funds raised by Vyriad since 2015 to over $100M.
“In my initial discussions with Mr. Stine, I was amazed to learn that Vyriad’s approach for developing safe, effective, cancer-targeted oncolytic viruses closely mirrors the Stine Seed model of high throughput screening, selection and commercialization of novel soybean and corn strains,” observed Vyriad Co-Founder and CEO, Dr. Stephen Russell. “Leveraging these approaches, Vyriad aspires to become a powerhouse for the generation and partnered commercialization of high performing safety-modified oncolytic viruses that, used alone or in combination with established therapies, can eliminate cancer without significant off-target effects or untoward toxicities.”
Dr. James Hampton, Professor Emeritus at Buena Vista University and leading genetics and genomics expert, has joined Vyriad’s Board of Directors in conjunction with the financing. Dr. Hampton commented, “Based on its unique technology platforms, broad patent coverage, and data driven approach to developing superior genotypes, Vyriad displays striking similarities to the approach I have seen Mr. Stine deploy in developing the world’s premier agricultural germplasm. The high throughput genetics model that has worked so well in feeding the world, will be equally successful in developing oncolytic virus therapies that offer novel and effective treatments for cancer.”
About Stine Seed Farms, Inc.
Stine Seed Farm, Inc. , founded by Harry H. Stine and headquartered near Adel, Iowa, is focused on developing and marketing the world’s best-performing corn and soybean seed through its retail arm, Stine Seed Company. Stine Seed Farm, Inc., operates the industry’s largest corn and soybean breeding and development programs, advancing and testing nearly 1 million unique soybean varieties and more than 100,000 preliminary corn hybrids annually. For nearly five decades, Stine’s soybean research program has been regarded as the soybean genetics supplier of choice to the seed industry.
About Vyriad, Inc.
Vyriad is a clinical-stage company developing oncolytic virus therapies for the treatment of cancers. Founded by scientists at Mayo Clinic and the University of Miami, Vyriad is currently working with various virus platforms, programming them to selectively kill cancer cells and ignite antitumor immune responses to complete and sustain the process of tumor destruction. In 2019 Vyriad and Regeneron (NASDAQ: REGN) established a broad-based strategic agreement to discover and develop new oncolytic virus treatments that leverage Vyriad’s vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) platform, as well as Regeneron’s unmatched antibody discovery capabilities. Vyriad’s lead clinical stage VSV asset, Voyager-V1, is being evaluated in ongoing Phase 1-2 clinical trials addressing multiple cancer types, alone or in combination with Regeneron’s PD-1 inhibitor Libtayo® (cemiplimab-rwlc).
Vyriad is privately held and based in Rochester, Minnesota. Its 25,000 square foot facility on the Rochester Technology Center campus includes offices, state of the art research laboratories, a GMP manufacturing facility and support systems for multicenter oncolytic virus therapy clinical trials. For more information, visit www.vyriad.com.
