Immuno-Oncology Firm Neon Launches

Joining the increasingly crowded immuno-oncology fray, Neon Therapeutics has launched with $55 million in financing from Third Rock Ventures, Clal Biotechnology Industries, and Access Industries. The Cambridge, Mass.-based biotech is developing therapeutic vaccines and T-cell therapies targeting neoantigens, tumor-specific proteins that appear to help cancer cells evade the immune system. Neon will work up both personalized therapies—tuned to a cancer patient’s specific neoantigens—as well as off-the-shelf vaccines and T-cell therapies. Neon’s first drug candidate, NEO-PV-01, is a personalized neoantigen vaccine developed by the Broad Institute and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.