Prokarium
Prokarium is a London-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing engineered Salmonella-based microbial immunotherapies for oncology, with its lead candidate ZH9 in a Phase 1/1b trial for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Prokarium does
Prokarium is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company founded in 2012 and headquartered in London, UK, developing microbial immunotherapies for oncology using proprietary engineered Salmonella bacteria. The company's core technology is the ZH9 chassis strain, a genetically attenuated Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi that naturally targets tumors, overcomes the suppressive tumor microenvironment, and can be programmed via the Living Cures synthetic biology platform to deliver diverse therapeutic cargo. Its lead product ZH9 is being evaluated as an intravesical treatment for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) in the ongoing Phase 1/1b PARADIGM-1 trial (NCT06181266) at multiple US clinical sites, with interim data showing 91% freedom-from-relapse at 12 months and a favorable safety profile. The pipeline extends to muscle invasive bladder cancer (in combination with checkpoint inhibitors), the IO Prime oral immune fitness agent, and the Living Cures discovery platform for cargo-delivery IO therapeutics.
The company monetizes through future product sales post-regulatory approval and potential licensing agreements, as no commercial products are currently marketed. It operates an enterprise field sales motion targeting healthcare providers and clinical trial sites, distributes investigational therapies through clinical trial sites, and relies on scientific conference presence (AUA, EAU, SITC, AACR, BIO) for clinical and scientific community engagement. Strategic partnerships underpin its capabilities: an exclusive worldwide license with Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) for Salmonella-based bladder cancer immunotherapy, a manufacturing contract with Wacker Biotech for GMP production, a bactofection platform collaboration with Ginkgo Bioworks, and a synthetic biology collaboration with Imperial College London's London Biofoundry.
Prokarium has raised over $60M across equity and grant funding rounds since 2018, including a $10M Series A (2018), a $21M Series B led by Korea Investment Partners (2020), and a $30M financing round (2023), with non-dilutive support from Wellcome Trust and UKRI. Backers include Riyadh Valley Company, Flerie Invest, Korea Investment Partners, and the UK government's Future Fund. The leadership team includes CEO Ibs Mahmood (appointed November 2025), CSO Livija Deban, COO Dara Henry, CMO Josi Holz, CFO Julia Jones, and Chairman Thomas Eldered (President of Flerie Invest).
Prokarium firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Prokarium
- Legal name
- Prokarium Limited
- Website
- https://prokarium.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Prokarium is a London-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing engineered Salmonella-based microbial immunotherapies for oncology, with its lead candidate ZH9 in a Phase 1/1b trial for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Prokarium industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Microbial Oncology Immunotherapy
- NAICS
- Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414), Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing (325412), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)
- SIC
- Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836), Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Therapeutic Vaccines (e.g., Cancer/Chronic Infection) (HLAIAEAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Therapeutic Vaccines (cancer, chronic infection immunotherapy) (HLAAAEAB), Vaccine Technology Platforms (mRNA, viral vector, protein subunit, inactivated/live-attenuated, VLP, DNA) (HLAAAEAD), Immunology & Autoimmune Specialty Pharmaceuticals (HLAIACAB)
Keywords
Where Prokarium is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Prokarium business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Pharmaceutical Development and Licensing: Prokarium is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing microbial immunotherapy treatments. Revenue will be generated through product sales following regulatory approval, with potential for licensing agreements and partnerships.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels1 record
Prokarium product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Prokarium develops engineered live-bacterial immunotherapies for solid tumors, led by ZH9, an intravesical attenuated Salmonella Typhi therapy for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer currently in a Phase 1/1b PARADIGM-1 trial in the United States. The company builds on its proprietary ZH9 chassis strain and its Living Cures synthetic biology platform to program bacteria as off-the-shelf, scalable immunotherapies and vaccine vectors, with additional pipeline programs including IO Prime (oral immune fitness agent) and the historical Entervax bivalent oral typhoid vaccine.
Product overview
Prokarium is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing microbial immunotherapies for oncology using its Living Cures synthetic biology platform. The core product pipeline includes ZH9, an intravesical Salmonella-based immunotherapy for bladder cancer currently in Phase 1/1b trials, and IO Prime, an oral immune fitness agent ready for clinical entry. The Living Cures platform enables programmable bacterial therapeutics by engineering proprietary Salmonella strains (ZH9 chassis) to deliver diverse therapeutic cargo for solid tumors. Historical vaccine programs include Entervax for enteric fever. The company leverages the Vaxonella synthetic biology technology for vaccine development.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- ZH9 Proprietary live-bacterial immunotherapy based on an attenuated Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (ZH9) strain, administered intravesically for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (and being explored in muscle invasive bladder cancer in combination with checkpoint inhibitors). Currently in the Phase 1/1b PARADIGM-1 trial in the United States (NCT06181266) for NMIBC patients, including BCG-non-responsive patients.
- IO Prime First-in-class oral immune fitness agent derived from the Living Cures / ZH9 platform, intended to restore immune function and potentiate cancer immunotherapy responses. Listed by Prokarium as ready to enter the clinic.
- Entervax Bivalent oral vaccine against enteric fever (caused by Salmonella Typhi and Salmonella Paratyphi A), based on the proprietary Vaxonella thermostable microbial platform that enables oral, refrigeration-free vaccination. Previously advanced into Phase I clinical trials funded by the Wellcome Trust.
Quantifiable outcome
- 91% freedom-from-relapse at 12 months in heavily pretreated NMIBC patients (10/11 patients at 12m per protocol completion)
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Prokarium
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Prokarium technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Prokarium partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.
- Ginkgo BioworkscorePartnership to develop a bactofection platform technology utilizing engineered bacteria to deliver RNA-based therapeutics. Ginkgo's microbial and mammalian foundry capabilities are being leveraged to engineer a Salmonella-based platform for delivering RNA payloads to treat cancer patients.
- Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV)coreExclusive worldwide license for the use of Salmonella immunotherapy in the treatment of bladder cancer. Collaboration initiated in 2019 with Department of Urology generating robust preclinical data package. Developed through collaboration with Dr. Denise Nardelli-Haefliger and team.
- London Biofoundry (Imperial College London)supportingMulti-year agreement to work with researchers from Imperial College London to develop next-generation therapeutic candidates engineered to deliver payloads within the tumor microenvironment. Leverages London Biofoundry's synthetic biology stack and expertise.
- Wacker BiotechcoreManufacturing contract for microbial immunotherapy for bladder cancer patients. Wacker Biotech using its LIBATEC technology platform for Live Microbial Products (LMPs) at Amsterdam site for GMP production of Salmonella-based immunotherapy.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves13 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Prokarium competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Enterome: Clinical-stage French company developing microbiome-derived and engineered bacterial immunotherapies for oncology. Comparable as a microbial immunotherapy company with a similar oncology focus and clinical-stage profile.
- BioMed Valley Discoveries: Clinical-stage developer of C. novyi-NT, an engineered Clostridia-based bacterial cancer immunotherapy. Most directly comparable peer to Prokarium as a microbial immunotherapy company targeting solid tumors.
- T3 Pharmaceuticals: Swiss clinical-stage biotech using engineered Pseudomonas bacteria to deliver therapeutic proteins into tumors. Directly comparable as a bacterial cancer immunotherapy platform with a similar mechanism of action to Prokarium's ZH9.
Emerging players
- Eligo Bioscience: Developer of engineered phage- and microbiome-based precision therapeutics. Comparable to Prokarium in using synthetic biology to program microbes for therapeutic applications, though focused on phage delivery rather than Salmonella chassis.
- Synlogic: Clinical-stage synthetic biology company developing engineered probiotic therapeutics (Synthetic Biotics). Comparable in its use of engineered living microbes as therapeutics and its clinical-stage status, though focused on metabolic and inflammatory diseases.
- Locus Biosciences: Clinical-stage developer of engineered bacteriophage therapies with CRISPR-payload capabilities. Comparable in its engineered-microbe therapeutic approach and synthetic biology platform, though focused on infectious disease and microbiome modulation.
- Novome Biotechnologies: Engineered-microbe therapeutics company (now part of Eligo) developing engineered bacterial strains for disease treatment. Comparable in its use of synthetic biology to program bacteria as living therapeutics.
Broad incumbents
- ImmunityBio: Commercial-stage immuno-oncology company with Anktiva (N-803) approved for BCG-unresponsive NMIBC. A direct competitor in Prokarium's lead indication, with overlapping patient population and clinical use case.
- Ferring Pharmaceuticals: Global pharmaceutical company with Adstiladrin (nadofaragene firadenovec) approved for BCG-unresponsive NMIBC. Direct NMIBC competitor with a gene therapy approach contrasting with Prokarium's microbial immunotherapy.
- Merck & Co. Large oncology incumbent with Keytruda (pembrolizumab) approved for BCG-unresponsive NMIBC. Sets the efficacy bar and standard-of-care comparison point for any new NMIBC entrant including Prokarium's ZH9.
Market position
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Prokarium social profiles
Digital presenceProkarium compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Prokarium financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Prokarium leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles14 records
Prokarium funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds8 records
Investors8 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Prokarium M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Prokarium
What does Prokarium do?
Prokarium develops engineered live-bacterial immunotherapies for solid tumors, led by ZH9, an intravesical attenuated Salmonella Typhi therapy for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer currently in a Phase 1/1b PARADIGM-1 trial in the United States. The company builds on its proprietary ZH9 chassis strain and its Living Cures synthetic biology platform to program bacteria as off-the-shelf, scalable immunotherapies and vaccine vectors, with additional pipeline programs including IO Prime (oral immune fitness agent) and the historical Entervax bivalent oral typhoid vaccine.
Is Prokarium a public or private company?
Prokarium is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Prokarium founded?
Prokarium was founded in 2012. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Prokarium based?
Prokarium is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Prokarium make money?
One revenue line is on record: pharmaceutical Development and Licensing.
Who are Prokarium's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Enterome, BioMed Valley Discoveries and T3 Pharmaceuticals. Emerging players are Eligo Bioscience, Synlogic, Locus Biosciences and Novome Biotechnologies. Broad incumbents are ImmunityBio, Ferring Pharmaceuticals and Merck & Co..
Does Prokarium have an API?
No public API is recorded for Prokarium.
What industry is Prokarium in?
Prokarium's product category is Microbial Oncology Immunotherapy. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAIAEAG, Therapeutic Vaccines (e.g., Cancer/Chronic Infection), with a secondary code of HLAAAEAB, Therapeutic Vaccines (cancer, chronic infection immunotherapy). Its NAICS code is 325414 and its SIC code is 2836.