O
Onyvax
Allogeneic cell-based vaccines for various cancer therapies
About Onyvax
Onyvax Limited was a UK-based biotechnology company that developed therapeutic cancer vaccines designed to activate the patient's immune system to target and eliminate tumor cells. Founded in 1997 as Pearlmark Enterprises, the company was established around the research of Professor Angus Dalgleish from St. George's Hospital Medical School in London, who served as the research director. Onyvax aimed to create off-the-shelf vaccines that could be manufactured in bulk, rather than relying on cells from individual patients.
Read full description
The company's business model focused on the research and development of a pipeline of cancer immunotherapies, funded through several private financing rounds. Onyvax raised a total of $41.9 million over four rounds, with its last Series C funding in May 2006 for $14.9 million from investors including 3i Group, SR One, and Merlin Biosciences. The company's lead product was Onyvax-P, a vaccine for prostate cancer composed of three irradiated allogeneic prostate cancer cell lines. This product underwent Phase II clinical trials in Europe and the US. Other vaccines in its pipeline included treatments for colorectal cancer (Onyvax-CR), lung cancer (Onyvax-L), and potentially melanoma (Onyvax-M).
Throughout its operation, Onyvax achieved several milestones, including the initiation of multiple clinical trials and securing a broad US patent for Onyvax-P in 2007. However, the development of its colorectal cancer vaccine was discontinued in 2008. While Onyvax-P showed some positive results in early trials, the company ultimately ceased operations. In 2009, VaxOnco Inc. acquired the rights to the Onyvax-P cell vaccine. UK government records indicate that Onyvax Limited is now dissolved, marking the end of its journey in developing cancer vaccines.
At a glance
- Status
- Operational
- Founded
- 1997
- Headquarters
- London, United Kingdom
- Employees
- 2
- Open positions
- None listed
- Dealroom signal
- 56.6/100
- Industry
- Health
- Sub-industry
- BioTechnology
- Sector
- Biotech & Life Sciences, Biotechnology, Oncology, Vaccines, Biotech and Pharma, Hard Tech, DT and LS, uk is8 life sciences, science-based
- Business model
- Manufacturing
- Client focus
- b2b
Latest news
Press, funding announcements and product moves mentioning Onyvax.
Funding history
Company financing events and reported valuations.
Growth signals
Latest recorded traffic for Onyvax is 100 monthly website visits, down 47.4% over the last three months. Onyvax's team grew 0% over the past year.
Similar companies
Company identity and context are open; selected comparison metrics preview what is available on the platform.
| Company | Headquarters | Status | Employees | Total funding | Valuation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ProkariumOral vaccines for infectious diseases |
London, United Kingdom | Operational | 17 | $84M | $120M |
SpyBiotechNovel vaccine platform using protein superglue technology |
Oxford, United Kingdom | Operational | |||
SpireaAdvanced antibody-drug conjugate technology for cancer therapeutics |
Harrogate, United Kingdom | Operational | |||
Valo TherapeuticsAn immunooncology company developing tumour antigen-coated oncolytic viruses as therapeutic vaccines |
Helsinki, Finland | Operational | |||
Emergex VaccinesSynthetic T-cell priming vaccines for infectious diseases |
Abingdon, United Kingdom | Operational | |||
Curileum DiscoveryNovel therapeutics correcting cell production in gut mucosa |
London, United Kingdom | Operational | |||
DJS AntibodiesAntibody therapeutics for chronic inflammatory and fibrotic diseases |
Oxford, United Kingdom | Acquired | |||
Argonaut TherapeuticsDeveloping epigenetic therapies targeting abnormal arginine methylation |
Oxford, United Kingdom | Acquired |
Investors
From Dealroom's funding and investor records, grouped by the round each investor first entered.
Series B and later6 investors entered at this stage
Alice VenturesSR One
3i Group
Alta Berkeley Venture Partners
MB Venture Partners
Excalibur Fund Managers
Source: Dealroom Talent Intelligence.
Global footprint
Market sentiment
An AI-synthesised read of the highest-engagement posts about Onyvax on X, ranked by likes and reposts, corporate channels excluded.
Reading the room on X — pulling top posts and synthesizing themes…
Source: X recent search ranked by engagement (likes + retweets) · Synthesis by Claude · Cached for 1 hour
See Onyvax’s full profile on Dealroom
Request a free trial to see the complete deal history, financials, people graph and growth signals.
Takes under a minute. Already use Dealroom? Log in.







