Prokarium Announces $30 Million Financing to Deliver Lead Program into Clinic and Build Novel Therapeutic Platform
9.2.2023 15:00:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
Prokarium, a biopharmaceutical company leading the oncology field of microbial immunotherapy, has raised $30 million in new funding. This follows Prokarium’s announcement of partnering with Ginkgo Bioworks to leverage its world-class Foundry and extensive Codebase to develop a bactofection platform technology.
“We are excited to advance our vision to create living cures,” said Kristen Albright, PharmD, Chief Executive Officer of Prokarium. “Proceeds of this financing will fund our lead oncology program entering clinical development this year and enable platform expansion for the delivery of novel therapeutic payloads, including RNA, via our proprietary bacteria. With Ginkgo’s partnership and their expertise in strain engineering and optimization we look forward to working towards unlocking a new generation of immuno-oncology therapeutics.”
Prokarium’s lead program has the potential to transform the treatment paradigm in bladder cancer, one of the costliest cancers to treat, in its efforts to become the new standard-of-care in a market that has seen little innovation in over 30 years and to offer advanced therapies an alternative to Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG). Prokarium’s pipeline leverages evolutionary advantages of a proprietary strain of Salmonella and combines them with bespoke synthetic circuits to deliver diverse therapeutic cargo for difficult-to-treat cancers.
“We believe Prokarium is a truly differentiated company,” added Thomas Eldered, Executive Chairman, Flerie Invest. “The new funds and Prokarium’s partnership with Ginkgo Bioworks will accelerate the cutting-edge innovation essential to lead the advancements in the field of synthetic biology and immunotherapy for years to come.”
“Our partnership with Prokarium will utilize Ginkgo’s leading platform capabilities and services to pioneer technological developments that we believe will revolutionize the immuno-oncology field,” added Ena Cratsenburg, Chief Business Officer at Ginkgo Bioworks. “Ginkgo is excited to partner with Prokarium to work to build a versatile Salmonella-based bactofection platform capable of delivering targeted, localized RNA therapeutics.”
In addition to the financing, Prokarium has announced the addition of two scientific advisors, Professor Adrian Hayday, PhD and Sam Chang, MD, MBA. “We are thrilled to welcome Adrian and Sam as advisors as we transition into a clinical-stage company,” concluded Albright. “Adrian brings the deep immunology and immunotherapy expertise, and Sam possesses invaluable clinical experience being involved in numerous bladder cancer clinical trials.” Professor Hayday is the founding Chair of Peter Gorer Department of Immunobiology at King’s College London and is currently Principal Group Leader at the Francis Crick Institute. Sam currently serves as the Chief Surgical Officer at the Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center.
About Prokarium
Prokarium is a biopharmaceutical company leading the oncology field of microbial immunotherapy with the vision to create living cures. The Company’s pipeline is designed to unlock a new generation of immuno-oncology therapeutics by re-engineering evolution into a synthetic biology platform. Prokarium’s lead program is focused on transforming the treatment paradigm in bladder cancer by orchestrating immune-driven, long-lasting antitumor effects. Prokarium is based in London, UK. For further information, visit www.prokarium.com.
About Flerie Invest
Flerie Invest is an active long-term global biotech and pharma investor based in Stockholm and London managing a portfolio of over 30 companies in Europe, Israel and the US. The focus is on enabling pioneering organisations operating in the drug development and services space to succeed by providing them with resources and expertise. The portfolio includes a wide range of areas including immuno- oncology, metabolic diseases and biologics development and manufacturing organisations which have the potential to make a significant impact in health and wellbeing. Flerie Invest was founded in 2011 by Thomas Eldered, who also co-founded and built Recipharm to be one of the world’s top five pharmaceutical contract manufacturers. For more information, please visit www.flerie.com.
About Ginkgo Bioworks
Ginkgo Bioworks is the leading horizontal platform for cell programming, providing flexible, end-to-end services that solve challenges for organizations across diverse markets, from food and agriculture to pharmaceuticals to industrial and specialty chemicals. Ginkgo’s biosecurity and public health unit, Concentric by Ginkgo, is building global infrastructure for biosecurity to empower governments, communities, and public health leaders to prevent, detect and respond to a wide variety of biological threats. For more information, visit ginkgobioworks.com and concentricbyginkgo.com, read our blog, or follow us on social media channels such as Twitter (@Ginkgo and @ConcentricByGBW), Instagram (@GinkgoBioworks and @ConcentricByGinkgo), or LinkedIn.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230209005006/en/
Contact information
PROKARIUM CONTACT:
Lisa Stone
lisa.stone@prokarium.com
GINKGO BIOWORKS CONTACT:
press@ginkgobioworks.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
AI Meets Traditional Culture: Huangshan Captures Widespread Attention at ITB Berlin7.3.2026 11:22:00 EET | Press release
Huangshan, one of China’s most iconic scenic destinations, drew significant attention at this year’s ITB by presenting a compelling fusion of traditional Chinese culture and cutting-edge artificial intelligence under the slogan “The world of Huangshan is for the world.” This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260307909978/en/ International visitor admires Huangshan cultural and creative exhibits at the Huangshan stand during ITB Berlin. Located in eastern China’s Anhui Province, Huangshan is famed for its “Five Natural Wonders” — fantastic pines, grotesque rocks, sea of clouds, hot spring and winter snow. The mountain is widely regarded as one of China’s greatest mountain landscapes. It is also a rare natural heritage site that simultaneously holds multiple international designations, including UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage status, a UNESCO Global Geopark and a World Biosphere Reserve. At ITB, the Huangsh
Incyte Announces the European Commission Approval of Zynyz ® (retifanlimab) for the First-Line Treatment of Advanced Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Anal Canal (SCAC)6.3.2026 23:42:00 EET | Press release
Incyte (Nasdaq:INCY) today announced that the European Commission (EC) has approved Zynyz® (retifanlimab) in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel (platinum-based chemotherapy) for the first-line treatment of adult patients with metastatic or with inoperable locally recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal (SCAC). “The EC approval of Zynyz marks an important step forward for patients with advanced SCAC, a rare cancer for which meaningful treatment advances have not occurred in several decades,” said Bill Meury, President and Chief Executive Officer, Incyte. “As the first PD-1 immunotherapy approved in Europe in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy in the first-line setting, Zynyz helps expand the standard-of-care options available to clinicians and underscores our commitment to delivering innovative medicines that can have an impact for patients.” The EC decision follows the January 2026 positive opinion received from the European Medicines Agency’s Committee f
Dfns Launches Payouts6.3.2026 22:27:00 EET | Press release
Dfns today announced the launch of Payouts, a new API enabling institutions to convert stablecoins to fiat and route payouts across multiple bank accounts while keeping wallet-level governance and controls in place. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260305327930/en/ Convert stablecoins to fiat and settle payouts to bank accounts in 94 countries, today. Solving the problem of single-rail off-ramps Today, most fintechs and institutions still hard-wire a single payout provider into their stack, or rely on vertically integrated models that bundle routing, pricing, custody, and settlement together. That approach may be convenient early on, but it creates structural problems at scale: weak price discovery because there is no competitive pressure on margins, limited auditability because routing decisions are opaque, and operational fragility because a single provider degradation in any corridor requires architectural i
Klarna Group Plc Clarifies Mechanics of March 9 Lock-Up Expiration6.3.2026 21:23:00 EET | Press release
Klarna Group plc (NYSE: KLAR) today issues the following clarification to ensure investors and market participants have accurate information regarding the mechanics of its lock-up expiration on March 9, 2026, the processes required before pre-IPO shares can be traded on the NYSE, and the prior liquidity opportunities already available to shareholders. This release contains only factual descriptions of the Company's share structure and applicable processes. It does not constitute guidance or a projection of any kind regarding future trading volumes, share price, or the intentions of any shareholder and speaks only as of the date of this press release. 1. 335 million locked-up shares — but two different categories Of the 378 million total ordinary shares outstanding, approximately 335 million are subject to lock-up restrictions expiring March 9, 2026. However, these shares fall into two distinct categories governed by separate sets of regulations. A. 159 million shares (48% of locked-up
Lone Star Funds Announces Agreement to Acquire the Capsules & Health Ingredients Division of Lonza Group AG6.3.2026 19:30:00 EET | Press release
Lone Star Funds (“Lone Star”) today announced that an affiliate of Lone Star Fund XII, L.P. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Capsules & Health Ingredients (“CHI”) division of Lonza Group AG. As part of the transaction, Lonza will retain a 40% equity position in the business. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, CHI operates globally across the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. The business comprises three segments: Hard Empty Capsules: leading global manufacturer of gelatin and plant-based capsules offering a broad range of innovative solutions for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical customers. Dosage Form Solutions: end-to-end development and manufacturing platform serving nutraceutical and pharmaceutical customers. Health Ingredients: provider of branded, science-backed nutrition ingredients serving joint health, energy and active lifestyle markets. Lone Star believes CHI is a high-quality, globally recognized platform with strong technical capabilities, different
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom