Vira Therapeutics

What Vira Therapeutics does

ViraTherapeutics GmbH is a clinical-stage Austrian biotech company headquartered in Innsbruck/Rum that develops cancer immunotherapies based on its proprietary VSV-GP platform. The VSV-GP construct is a modified Vesicular Stomatitis Virus in which the native glycoprotein has been replaced with the Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus glycoprotein, a change that abrogates neurotoxicity while preserving broad tumor tropism. The platform is being progressed along two parallel product paths: a standalone oncolytic virus therapy tested in Phase I trials (including the KISIMA-02 study targeting KRAS G12D/G12V mutated pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma), and a cancer vaccine modality that uses a heterologous prime-boost approach combining VSV-GP encoding tumor antigens with recombinant protein vaccines and checkpoint inhibitor ezabenlimab. The company pursues oncology indications including pancreatic, head and neck, lung, melanoma, prostate, and ovarian cancers. Customers in the strict sense are cancer patients enrolled in clinical trials, with no commercial product sales today.\n\nThe company was founded in April 2013 as a spin-out from the Medical University of Innsbruck by Prof. Dr. Dorothee von Laer and Dr. Ludwig Weiss, with the European patent for the VSV-GP technology having been granted earlier that year. Between 2013 and 2016, ViraTherapeutics secured preseed and seed grants from Austria Wirtschaftsservice (aws), angel investment from Empl Privatstiftung, a EUR 5.2 million Series A (June 2015), and a EUR 4.1 million Series B (August 2016), with Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund and EMBL Ventures as co-leads. In September 2018, Boehringer Ingelheim acquired all shares for EUR 210 million based on an option agreement signed in August 2016, after which ViraTherapeutics has operated as a distinct unit within BI's Discovery Research organization. As of June 2026, the team has grown to approximately 45 colleagues at the Innsbruck site.\n\nViraTherapeutics' revenue model is presently pre-commercial, with no priced product and no pricing model established. Future revenue, once therapies receive regulatory approval, would flow through eventual pharmaceutical product sales leveraging Boehringer Ingelheim's commercial infrastructure, while current funding is internal to the parent organization. Distribution of investigational therapies currently occurs through Phase I clinical trial sites under regulatory authorization across global study locations. The GTM motion in this phase is enterprise/clinical collaboration with hospital trial sites, anchored entirely through the parent company's network.

Name

Vira Therapeutics

Legal name

ViraTherapeutics GmbH

Website

https://viratherapeutics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ViraTherapeutics is an Austrian clinical-stage biotech developing proprietary VSV-GP oncolytic virus immunotherapies, conducting Phase I trials across multiple solid tumor indications as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Boehringer Ingelheim.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Oncology Immunotherapeutics

SIC

Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836), Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834)

akta.pro primary industry

Oncology Gene Therapies (incl. oncolytic vectors & gene-modified approaches) (HLAAACAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Therapeutic Vaccines (e.g., Cancer/Chronic Infection) (HLAIAEAG), Therapeutic Vaccines (cancer, chronic infection immunotherapy) (HLAAAEAB)

Keywords

• Oncolytic virus therapy
• Cancer immunotherapy
• Viral immunotherapy
• Oncolytic virus platform
• Immuno-oncology therapeutics

Headquarters

HQ city

Innsbruck

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Drug Development and Commercialization: As a clinical-stage biotech company, ViraTherapeutics is in the development phase with therapies in Phase I clinical trials. Revenue will be generated through eventual pharmaceutical product sales upon regulatory approval, leveraging Boehringer Ingelheim's commercial infrastructure.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ViraTherapeutics develops investigational anti-cancer therapeutics based on its proprietary VSV-GP oncolytic virus platform. The company's lead work involves progressing VSV-GP as both a standalone oncolytic virus therapy that selectively destroys cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue, and as a cancer vaccine platform that pairs engineered VSV-GP with recombinant protein vaccines in a heterologous prime-boost regimen. Both therapeutic approaches are currently being evaluated in Phase I clinical trials across multiple solid tumor indications.

Product overview

ViraTherapeutics develops innovative cancer immunotherapies based on its proprietary VSV-GP virus platform technology. The company has progressed the VSV-GP platform as both a standalone oncolytic virus therapy and as part of a novel cancer vaccine platform. Both therapeutic approaches are currently being tested in clinical trials with cancer patients. The VSV-GP oncolytic virus can be engineered to encode tumor antigens and applied as a cancer vaccine, working in conjunction with recombinant protein vaccines through a heterologous prime-boost approach.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• VSV-GP Platform A proprietary, patent-protected modified Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV-GP) platform engineered to selectively destroy cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue. It serves as the foundation for both the standalone oncolytic therapy and the cancer vaccine products in ViraTherapeutics' pipeline.
• VSV-GP Oncolytic Virus Therapy Standalone oncolytic therapy using the VSV-GP platform to selectively infect and destroy cancer cells without harming healthy tissues; currently in Phase I clinical trials across solid tumor indications.
• VSV-GP Cancer Vaccine Virus-based cancer vaccine platform in which VSV-GP is engineered to encode tumor antigens and combined with recombinant protein vaccines in a heterologous prime-boost vaccination approach to drive strong, durable antigen-specific T cell responses.

Quantifiable outcome

• Phase I clinical trials ongoing for VSV-GP monotherapy and combination with ezabenlimab (BI 1831169)

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Medical University of InnsbruckmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2017ViraTherapeutics partnered with Medical University of Innsbruck to establish the Christian Doppler Laboratory for Viral Immunotherapy of Cancer, with funding from the Christian Doppler Research Association. ViraTherapeutics was originally spun out from this university in April 2013.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• PsiOxus Therapeutics: PsiOxus developed enadenotucirev (now NG-348, NG-350A), an oncolytic adenovirus platform targeting solid tumors — comparable OV platform approach with combination-IO positioning similar to VSV-GP.
• Candel Therapeutics: Candel develops CAN-2409 and other oncolytic immunotherapies, including in pancreatic cancer and prostate cancer indications that overlap with ViraTherapeutics' lead targets — comparable clinical-stage OV company with similar combination-IO strategy.
• Transgene: Transgene develops oncolytic virus therapies (TG4001, TG6002) using vaccinia and measles platforms, with active clinical programs in head and neck cancer and other solid tumors — a directly comparable European-listed OV immunotherapy peer.
• Oncolytics Biotech: Oncolytics Biotech develops pelareorep, an immune-oncolytic reovirus, and is a leading clinical-stage OV immunotherapy company with multiple combination programs — directly comparable to ViraTherapeutics' clinical-stage status and IO-combination strategy.
• Replimune: Replimune develops oncolytic immunotherapies based on an engineered herpes simplex virus platform (RP1, RP2, RP3) — a direct mechanistic parallel to ViraTherapeutics' VSV-GP approach, targeting similar solid-tumor indications.
• Vyriad: Vyriad develops oncolytic vesiculovirus and vaccinia-based immunotherapies (e.g., VV-GMCSF) with clinical programs in solid tumors — directly comparable OV platform company with similar mechanism of action to VSV-GP.
• Turnstone Biologics: Turnstone Biologics develops oncolytic virus immunotherapies including TILT-123, combining direct oncolysis with immune activation — directly comparable platform strategy and clinical-stage focus to ViraTherapeutics.
• KaliVir Immunotherapeutics: KaliVir develops novel oncolytic virus immunotherapies using engineered poxviruses and vaccinia backbones with systemic delivery — comparable early-clinical OV platform to ViraTherapeutics' VSV-GP.
• Genelux: Genelux develops GL-ONC1 (olvimulogene nanivacirepvec), a vaccinia-based oncolytic virus with imaging and therapeutic applications — a directly comparable OV platform with similar clinical-stage positioning to VSV-GP.

Broad incumbents

• Amgen: Amgen commercializes Imlygic (talimogene laherparepvec/T-VEC), the first FDA-approved oncolytic virus therapy for melanoma. As the incumbent in the OV space, Amgen sets the competitive benchmark ViraTherapeutics must beat.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/viratherapeutics-gmbh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Vira Therapeutics