ErVimmune secures first close of €17 million Series A
ErVimmune, a Lyon-based biotech developing cancer vaccines and cell therapies aimed at so-called “cold tumors”—cancers that typically do not respond to today’s immunotherapies—has announced the first closing of a €17 million (about $19.8 million) Series A financing. The round includes participation from existing shareholder Seventure Partners and new investor SPRIM Global Investments (Singapore). The company said the financing is expected to unlock additional non-dilutive support from Bpifrance and the France 2030 programme.
“This funding marks a critical milestone in bringing our off-the-shelf cancer vaccine to the clinic,” said Prof Stéphane Depil, MD, PhD, founder and board member at ErVimmune. “Our approach has the potential to transform treatment options for patients with difficult-to-treat cancers.”
Positioning within Europe’s immuno-oncology funding cycle
The raise lands amid continued investor interest in European oncology and immuno-oncology platforms. In the broader market, later-stage financings have included the UK’s Artios Pharma raising €99 million to expand its precision oncology pipeline and Germany’s Tubulis securing €308 million to advance its antibody–drug conjugate work. France has also seen sizable oncology rounds, including Marseille-based Adcytherix raising €105 million to progress novel ADC candidates.
At a scale closer to ErVimmune’s financing, Germany’s T-CURX raised €17.7 million for new cancer therapies, while Switzerland-based Hedera Dx secured €15 million in a Series A aimed at improving access to modern cancer care. Across the period cited by the company, oncology and adjacent biotech rounds total roughly €870 million, placing ErVimmune’s round in the low-to-mid range of a broader flow of capital into both late-stage platforms and clinic-enabling programmes.
From Centre Léon Bérard spin-off to first-in-human ambition
Founded in 2019, ErVimmune is a spin-off from Centre Léon Bérard and focuses on therapeutic vaccines targeting “unconventional” tumor antigens derived from human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs). These HERV-derived antigens resemble viral protein fragments that the immune system can recognize as foreign, making them attractive targets for vaccine and T-cell based strategies—particularly in tumors that respond poorly to current standards of care.
Chief executive Nathalie Donne said the new capital will accelerate the company’s lead programme. “This financial backing enables us to accelerate the development of our lead vaccine candidate ErVac01,” she said, adding that the company is preparing to enter its first-in-human clinical phase and to establish the basis for a broader therapeutic platform.
Targeting major unmet needs in women’s cancers
ErVimmune’s initial clinical focus is on two areas with high unmet medical need: triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)—which represents about 15% of breast cancer cases globally and is known for aggressive disease biology—and ovarian cancer, widely considered the deadliest cancer affecting women due to late diagnosis and limited durable treatment options.
What the funding will support: advancing ErVac01
The Series A proceeds are earmarked to drive the clinical development of ErVac01, described as a heterologous vaccine formulation containing a collection of HERV-derived epitopes. The company’s goal is broad population coverage across HLA alleles, citing targets of more than 80% coverage in Asia and more than 95% in Europe.
A key element of the strategy is to select antigens shared across patients and tumors, enabling a ready-to-use, off-the-shelf product rather than a personalized therapy. That manufacturing and deployment model is intended to make the approach scalable if clinical results support it, while also addressing tumor types that have historically been less responsive to checkpoint inhibitors.
The financing will support execution of a first-in-human clinical trial, an early but pivotal milestone designed to establish initial safety and immunogenicity signals.
“We are eager to support ErVimmune’s lead programme, ErVac01, as it enters its first clinical study,” said Michael Shleifer, founding partner at SPRIM Global Investments. He added that the round is intended to validate the company’s proprietary antigen discovery platform and enable the development of additional candidates targeting untapped HERV antigens across multiple oncology indications.
Investor support and non-dilutive funding track record
ErVimmune said it has received financial support since inception from Bpifrance, the Cancéropôle Lyon Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, and the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR). Seventure Partners invested in a seed round at the end of 2020, followed by additional grants in 2022 from Bpifrance and ANR, and a €2.5 million grant from the EIC Accelerator in November 2023. The company was also selected for support from the Paris Saclay Cancer Cluster (PSCC) in 2024 and the NETVA programme in 2025.
Governance update as the round remains open
Alongside the financing, ErVimmune announced the appointment of Eric Halioua as executive chairman of its board, a move aimed at strengthening governance as the company transitions into clinical development.
“ErVimmune is entering a defining phase in its development now it has the financial means to advance into the clinic,” said Eric Halioua, citing priorities including clinical execution, strategic partnerships, and long-term value creation.
The company said the Series A round remains open to additional investors and will support advancement of ErVac01 in TNBC and ovarian cancer, as well as future candidates built around additional HERV-derived targets.
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