# Genocea Biosciences
Genocea Biosciences, Inc. was a [Cambridge, Massachusetts](https://www.edgepedia.org/cambridge-massachusetts) biopharmaceutical company, incorporated in Delaware on August 16, 2006, that developed cancer immunotherapies, including personalized neoantigen (new protein from tumor mutations that immune cells recognize) vaccines and [T cell](https://www.edgepedia.org/t-cell) therapies, using its ATLAS T cell antigen discovery platform; it traded on Nasdaq under the symbol GNCA, and the most recent corporate event documented in the public record retrieved for this article is a January 2022 collaboration with Janssen Biotech.[1](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761220000049/gnca-20200331x10q.htm) • [2](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761222000002/a20220104ex-991.htm)
| Key facts | |
|---|---|
| Founded | August 16, 2006 (Delaware incorporation); headquarters Cambridge, MA[1](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761220000049/gnca-20200331x10q.htm) |
| Founders | Robert Paull and Kevin J. Bitterman (directory data, unverified)[3](https://startupintros.com/orgs/genocea-biosciences) |
| Sector | Biotechnology; cancer immunotherapy |
| IPO | February 2014; Nasdaq: GNCA[4](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761218000019/gnca-20171231x10k.htm) |
| Total capital | $399.7 million gross equity/debt proceeds plus $7.9 million in grants as of March 31, 2020[1](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761220000049/gnca-20200331x10q.htm) |
| Lead programs | GEN-009 personalized neoantigen vaccine (Phase 1/2a); GEN-011 NPT cell therapy; GEN-003 herpes immunotherapy (shelved 2017)[1](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761220000049/gnca-20200331x10q.htm) • [5](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761217000041/gnca_92517-ex991pressrelea.htm) |
| Last recorded event | Janssen R&D collaboration and option agreement, January 4, 2022[2](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761222000002/a20220104ex-991.htm) |
## Founding and early history
The company was incorporated in Delaware on August 16, 2006, with its principal place of business in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[1](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761220000049/gnca-20200331x10q.htm) A directory source, which is unverified, credits the founding to Robert Paull and Kevin J. Bitterman and lists a $23 million Series A in February 2009 backed by Atlas Venture, Borealis Ventures, Kurma Partners, and SR One, followed by a $16 million Series D in October 2013.[3](https://startupintros.com/orgs/genocea-biosciences)
An early product of the company was GEN-003, described by the company as a Phase 3-ready investigational immunotherapy for the treatment of genital herpes.[5](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761217000041/gnca_92517-ex991pressrelea.htm)
## The ATLAS platform
ATLAS stands apart from prediction-based approaches in neoantigen selection. Rather than using software models to guess which mutations in a patient's tumor might be visible to the immune system, ATLAS recreates each individual's T cell immune responses to their tumor in the laboratory, profiling the patient's CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses to every potential antigen in that tumor.[1](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761220000049/gnca-20200331x10q.htm) The company designed the platform, in its own words, "to overcome these T cell target discovery challenges by identifying true neoantigens in an individual rather than using traditional predictive methods."[4](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761218000019/gnca-20171231x10k.htm)
The company also claimed that ATLAS identifies "Inhibigens," antigens associated with suppressing T cell responses, which it said could be excluded from vaccines or targeted in cell therapy.[2](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761222000002/a20220104ex-991.htm) In its 2017 pivot announcement, then-CEO Chip Clark described ATLAS as "the only platform to comprehensively identify the actual neoantigens to which a patient's CD4+ and CD8+ T cells respond," and a superior approach compared with methods used by others.[5](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761217000041/gnca_92517-ex991pressrelea.htm)
## Funding and public-market history
Genocea completed its IPO in February 2014, followed by follow-on public offerings in March 2015, August 2015, and January 2018, alongside private placements and debt.[4](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761218000019/gnca-20171231x10k.htm) As of March 31, 2020, the company reported an aggregate of $399.7 million in gross proceeds from equity issuances and debt facilities plus $7.9 million from grants; it held $26.5 million in cash at that date.[1](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761220000049/gnca-20200331x10q.htm)
Two late-stage financings illustrate how cheaply the stock was raised in its final years. In February 2019 the company completed the initial closing of a private placement of 25,599,979 shares, pre-funded warrants for 4,250,000 shares, and warrants for up to 7,462,494 shares at $0.5026 per Unit, for gross proceeds of approximately $15,002,599.[6](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761219000043/s-3document.htm) In June 2019 it sold 10,500,000 shares at $3.50 per share for gross proceeds of approximately $36.8 million.[1](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761220000049/gnca-20200331x10q.htm) The stock closed at $0.61 per share on March 28, 2019.[6](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761219000043/s-3document.htm)
The losses were large relative to that capital. Genocea reported net losses of $56.7 million, $49.6 million, and $42.5 million for 2017, 2016, and 2015, with accumulated deficits of approximately $264.2 million at the end of 2017.[4](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761218000019/gnca-20171231x10k.htm) The Q1 2020 10-Q stated substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern, with $13.8 million of cash used in operating activities in that quarter alone.[1](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761220000049/gnca-20200331x10q.htm)
## Pipeline and clinical programs
**GEN-009** was the lead oncology program: a personalized neoantigen cancer vaccine in Phase 1/2a as of early 2020.[1](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761220000049/gnca-20200331x10q.htm) In Part B of the trial, T cell responses were detected against 99% of the 88 administered vaccine neoantigens, a rate the company stated exceeded those previously reported for candidate neoantigen vaccines.[1](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761220000049/gnca-20200331x10q.htm) In June 2021 the company reported that in Part A, a safety and immunogenicity cohort of eight patients with no measurable disease vaccinated with GEN-009 as a monotherapy, six of the eight remained without recurrence at a median follow-up of 25 months after the start of vaccination.[7](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761221000071/a20210604ex-991.htm) Part A was not designed to measure efficacy, so the recurrence data are observational.
**GEN-011** was a neoantigen-targeted peripheral T cell (NPT) therapy composed only of CD8+ and CD4+ T cells extracted from the patient's peripheral blood and expanded in the company's PLANET process, studied in the Phase 1/2a TiTAN trial, with an investigational new drug application expected in the second quarter of 2020.[1](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761220000049/gnca-20200331x10q.htm) • [2](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761222000002/a20220104ex-991.htm) By January 2022, Genocea had screened 19 patient samples with ATLAS in TiTAN; on average ATLAS prioritized 12 neoantigens (range 0 to 43) and identified 14 Inhibigens (range 1 to 55) per patient.[2](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761222000002/a20220104ex-991.htm)
**GEN-003**, the herpes immunotherapy, reached Phase 3-ready status before the company stopped investing in it in 2017.[5](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761217000041/gnca_92517-ex991pressrelea.htm)
## The 2017 pivot from herpes to oncology
On September 25, 2017, Genocea announced a strategic shift to immuno-oncology and neoantigen cancer vaccines, with GEN-009 as lead candidate and an IND expected by early 2018.[5](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761217000041/gnca_92517-ex991pressrelea.htm) As part of the pivot the company ceased GEN-003 spending and activities, explored strategic alternatives for the Phase 3-ready herpes program, and reduced its workforce by approximately 40 percent.[5](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761217000041/gnca_92517-ex991pressrelea.htm) At the time of the shift, all of its active oncology research programs were preclinical, and the company was exploring partnerships for tumor-associated antigen and Epstein-Barr Virus cancer vaccines.[4](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761218000019/gnca-20171231x10k.htm) The company's stated rationale centered on ATLAS's fit with personalized cancer vaccines.
## Janssen collaboration and final recorded activity
On January 4, 2022, Genocea entered into an R&D collaboration and option agreement with Janssen Biotech, Inc., part of [Johnson & Johnson](https://www.edgepedia.org/johnson-and-johnson), to explore neoantigen immunogenicity and Inhibigens in cancer vaccine therapies. Genocea was to receive a technology access fee and full R&D funding for its work, and Janssen obtained an option to negotiate a future strategic partnership on non-personalized vaccines using ATLAS.[2](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761222000002/a20220104ex-991.htm) This is the latest corporate event established by the sources retrieved for this article.
## References
1. [Genocea Biosciences Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 (SEC EDGAR)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761220000049/gnca-20200331x10q.htm)
2. [Genocea press release, January 4, 2022: Janssen collaboration and TiTAN progress (SEC 8-K exhibit)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761222000002/a20220104ex-991.htm)
3. [Genocea Biosciences: Funding, Team & Investors (Startup Intros directory; unverified)](https://startupintros.com/orgs/genocea-biosciences)
4. [Genocea Biosciences Form 10-K for fiscal year 2017 (SEC EDGAR)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761218000019/gnca-20171231x10k.htm)
5. [Genocea press release, September 25, 2017: strategic shift to immuno-oncology (SEC Exhibit 99.1)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761217000041/gnca_92517-ex991pressrelea.htm)
6. [Genocea Biosciences Form S-3 registration statement, 2019 (SEC EDGAR)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761219000043/s-3document.htm)
7. [Genocea press release, June 4, 2021: long-term GEN-009 data (SEC exhibit)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1457612/000145761221000071/a20210604ex-991.htm)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Economics and business › Business and work › Business and work overview › Companies and corporations › Venture-backed startups and growth companies › Health, biotech, and medtech startups › Biologics and antibody developers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 11, 2026 · Last review: Sep 30, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license