ErVimmune Raises €17M In Series A First Close To Advance Lead Cancer Vaccine Into Clinic

The financing includes participation from existing investor Seventure Partners and new backer SPRIM Global Investments, and will also allow the company to access additional non-dilutive funding from Bpifrance and the France 2030 program.

The €17 million Series A will support the clinical development of ErVac01, ErVimmune’s lead vaccine candidate. ErVac01 is a heterologous formulation comprising multiple HERV-derived epitopes designed to achieve broad population coverage across HLA alleles over 80% in Asia and more than 95% in Europe. By targeting antigens shared across patients and tumor types the vaccine can be produced as a ready-to-use therapy rather than a personalized treatment.

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It is intended for “cold” tumors, such as triple-negative breast cancer and ovarian cancer which currently show limited response to checkpoint inhibitors. The funding will enable a first-in-human clinical trial to assess the vaccine’s safety and immunogenicity.

“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.”

“This financial backing enables us to accelerate the development of our lead vaccine candidate ErVac01 ” said Nathalie Donne, EMBA CEO of ErVimmune. “We are excited to move forward into our first-in-human clinical phase and to build the foundations for a broader therapeutic platform.”

Since its inception, ErVimmune has received backing from Bpifrance, Cancéropôle Lyon Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR). Seventure Partners led a seed investment in late 2020, followed by additional grants from Bpifrance and ANR in 2022. In November 2023, the company secured a €2.5 million EIC Accelerator grant, and in 2024 and 2025 was selected for support from the Paris Saclay Cancer Cluster (PSCC) and the NETVA program, respectively.

“We are delighted to continue supporting ErVimmune as it enters this critical clinical phase,” said Isabelle de Crémoux, CEO and managing partner at Seventure Partners. “The company is opening a new frontier in cancer immunotherapy. Advancing ErVac01 into the clinic is a decisive step toward translating this innovative vaccine platform into tangible benefits for patients.”

“We are eager to support ErVimmune’s lead program, ErVac01 as it enters its first clinical study,” said Michael Shleifer, founding partner at SPRIM Global Investments. “This financing marks an inflection point in validating ErVimmune’s proprietary antigen discovery platform, heralding a new era of shared, off-the-shelf cancer immunotherapies. A successful outcome will enable the generation of successive waves of proprietary therapeutic candidates targeting untapped HERV antigens across multiple oncology indications.”

Alongside the financing, ErVimmune has appointed Eric Halioua as Executive Chairman of its Board of Directors, strengthening governance and strategic leadership as the company moves into clinical development.

Eric Halioua is an experienced biotech entrepreneur and executive with a strong track record in company creation, capital raising and value generation. He has founded four biotechnology companies and previously served as President and CEO of PDC*line Pharma, a clinical-stage developer of therapeutic cancer vaccines. Earlier roles include CEO of Promethera Biosciences and co-founder of Myosix, which was acquired by Genzyme in 2002.

Over his career, Halioua has raised more than €170 million from leading venture capital firms and strategic partners across Europe, the US, Japan, and Korea and has been involved in multiple successful M&A transactions and IPOs. He also co-invented the world’s first GMP-approved mobile manufacturing unit for cell therapy, highlighting his expertise in advanced biomanufacturing and translational development.

Before founding companies, he spent 12 years at Arthur D. Little in the Healthcare & Life Sciences practice, leading strategy, M&A and technology-focused projects for global pharmaceutical and biotech clients. He holds master’s degrees in pharmacology and molecular biology, as well as an MBA from ESSEC Business School in Paris.

“ErVimmune is entering a defining phase in its development now it has the financial means to advance into the clinic, ” said Eric Halioua. “I look forward to working closely with the team and the board to support clinical execution, strategic partnerships and long-term value creation to build a leading immuno-oncology company.”

The Series A round remains open to additional investors and will further support the advancement of ErVac01 in triple-negative breast cancer and ovarian cancer. It will also fund the development of future therapeutic candidates targeting novel HERV-derived antigens across additional oncology indications.

About ErVimmune

ErVimmune is a French preclinical biotechnology company founded in 2019 by Prof. Stéphane Depil an onco-hematologist at Centre Léon Bérard. A spin-off from the institute, the company develops next-generation cancer vaccines and cell therapies targeting “cold” tumors that respond poorly to existing immunotherapies.