Biotech firm raises $16M, advances cancer treatment

TAMPA — Morphogenesis Inc., a Tampa-based immunotherapy company, closed a $16 million Series A investment round led by prominent Tampa Bay area investor and philanthropist Kiran Patel and KP Biotech Group, a company managed by Patel.

According to a press release, Patel was also elected chairman of the board of Morphogenesis.  

“It’s extremely rewarding to reach this point with the Morphogenesis team, who have been pursuing such formidable endeavors in biotechnology that will put Tampa on the map,” Patel states in the release. “Interest in this investment was strong but we had to cap at $16 million.”

Patel, according to the release, has been an ardent backer of Morphogenesis, having invested in it for more than five years. “The successful outcomes from their companion animal and mouse studies have resulted in a green light by the FDA to move into Phase 1b of human clinical trials,” he states in the release.

The technology pioneered by Morphogenesis employs cell and gene therapy to produce cancer therapies that mark tumor cells for destruction by the immune system. The company intends to use the proceeds of its Series A round to fund human clinical trial at Tampa’s Moffitt Cancer Center and to develop its executive management team.